WHAT is letterboxing? Letterboxing is an activity that can be enjoyed by anyone. It is a mixture of walking, orienteering, treasure hunting and puzzle solving.

Enthusiasts hide and hunt weatherproof containers, usually a plastic bottle or box, in remote and scenic places. Inside each container is a book, a rubber stamp and a stamp pad.

The container is then carefully placed in its chosen place. Clues are distributed as to the location of the container by the planter. These can be easy or difficult and map reading or puzzle solving skills may be needed before the box can be found.

Letterboxing started on Dartmoor in 1854 when a gentleman hiker put his calling card in a bottle and placed it into the bank of Cranmere Pool on the moor. The idea developed and people called at the pool and left self-addressed postcards as proof of their visit.

The next visitor would take the card out and replace it with their own, then post the removed card back to its owner, hence the name letterboxing.

The pastime developed over the years into what it is today, with rubber stamps and books. It is believed that there could be as many as 20,000 letterboxes currently planted on Dartmoor.

People travel from all over the world for the Dartmoor experience and to leave their stamp on the Dartmoor letterboxes. Letterboxing is a truly international sport, especially in America where, as usual, they do it bigger and better than anyone else.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO START LETTERBOXING?

* A record book to stamp your finds into. Try to obtain one with pages thick enough to avoid the stampings showing through on the other side. An artist's sketch book is a good idea.

* A pen to make notes in both your own book and the letterbox book.

* A personal rubber stamp. You can carve your own from a pencil rubber or have one made. You can learn how to carve a stamp on the internet - simply enter the words 'rubber stamp carving' into your search engine.

* To complement your rubber stamp you must have an ink pad.

* An Ordnance Survey or Harveys map of the area you are searching.

* A compass to work out some clues is essential as is the usual survival gear that an intrepid hiker would need.

* Simple things such as a cloth or piece of kitchen towel can be useful to keep hands clean when stamping the books.

So there you are, all ready to go letterboxing. All you need now is the knowledge to find them!

It would be too easy if all the locations were listed, but some are. Again, search the web and you will find certain sites with locations. Dartmoor has in the region of 20,000 letterboxes so you could easily find one by first searching the popular places.

It works out at around 60 boxes per square mile, but there are bound to be more easily accessible ones at the popular tourist points than out on the wild moor.

The North York Moors are not soaked with letterboxes as is Dartmoor, but they are there and can also be found in Dalby Forest.

If you prefer not to search the moors you could try Urban Letterboxing. Have a look at www.spacehijackers.co.uk/letterboxing for details and sites.

GEOCACHING

An offshoot from letterboxing is the latest craze, 'Geocaching', which brings letterboxing into the 21st century.

Here the letterboxes are called caches, and the method of finding them is to use a Global Positioning System receiver. It was started in America in 2000.

Its popularity has been tremendous and there are now geocaching sites in more than 100 countries. All you need to know about geocaching is once again on the internet.

Letterboxing can be a fascinating pastime but please have respect for the area you are searching in. Do not use historical sites or buildings and do not invade privacy or trespass. Tell someone where you are going and your expected return time. Take a map, compass, food, drink and extra clothing with you.

If geocaching, enter the co-ordinates of where your car is parked before you leave. If enthusiasm gets the better of you it is easy to become dis-orientated and forget in which direction your car is. With its position on your GPS you will be guided back to it.

Useful websites:

www.geocaching.com

www.spacehijackers.co.uk/letterboxing

Updated: 12:02 Tuesday, March 08, 2005