Friday 13 August 2010

A right Royal disappointment

WITC have visited Royal Hill once before. It was on a windy day back in 1992 and we were doing an guided walk - not letterboxing. It was one of our first experiences of hiking on the moor. The trip up to Crock of Gold from Tor Royal was quickly forgotten but for whatever reason we never, ever went back.
Till now.

Its a big area of central Dartmoor close to Princetown yet it seems a little neglected and unappealing to a letterboxer. The terrain is tough, and the area is featureless. These qualities are hardly unique on Dartmoor, and so we headed off in a positive frame of mind. Though our list of boxes to find was short, we were confident we would find plenty purely by chance. The route took us from Peat Cot past Whiteworks towards the Swincombe Intake Works and up to Royal Hill's summit. Then past Crock of Gold and down to Cholake Head, returning via Strane Head.
Our day resulted in just 10 boxes found, with the majority unfound for a very long time. At least the scenery brought back nice memories from the early 90s, and the 360 views are impressive.

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