Letterboxing....

Bank holiday Monday dawned bright and beautiful and after a few hours of work I decided that I wasn't going to waste the day any more sitting indoors hunched up over my computer.. I was going to pootle out to Dartmoor yet again.. and I am sooooo pleased that I did. It was magical today, the sun shone, the breeze was minimal, the colours were stunning and the scenery awesome. I called up a friend and off we set.. packed lunch, chocolate cake, flask and, of course, cameras! (Sounds like something from the Famous Five stories... unfortunately we didn't have lashings of ginger beer this time!)

I thought you might like to share the day with me and just take some time to put yourselves in these pictures, listen to the sounds of crickets chirping and horses munching, breathe in the scent of bracken and clean fresh air, and marvel at the beautiful scenery and give yourselves a minute to relax and allow your soul to be restored.....

After parking the car at the top of the hill it was a little scramble down into the boggy valley.....

... past the weathered tree ( I loved the shapes and texture of this tree... it fascinated me...!)

... yes ... more tree photos!

... and up the other side to the tor.... this one is called Sharp Tor... that is if I'm reading my map correctly!

The views from the top were just incredible... you had a 360 degree view all around....

The photo above shows the view back towards the car park...

Below you can see the views straight across to Torbay. If you are able to zoom in you will see a small white dot on the horizon... this is a very expensive ballon 'lift' that you can take from the centre of Torquay... floating you up above the town to view the scenery... I was amazed that we could see it from this tor!

I love the colours of the grey rock and the purple heather together... more inspiration for my jewellery making..

Looking back towards the car park and beyond to Yar Tor.... (above)

Isn't this gorgeous... the heather and gorse growing together, and aren't the colours just so vibrant?

There were plenty of dartmoor ponies and their young to be seen meandering over the moor... Rosie would have loved to have seen these!

After our lunch we decided to walk up the gentle incline towards Yar Tor...

For a long while now I have been wanting to try my hand at 'Letterboxing' ( Click on this link to fine out more about it) on the moor but have never really known where to start... well, with some good advice from a friend I had more of an idea of what to do and where to look, so decided that we would try to find a letterbox around Yar Tor....

... so it was with much excitement that, after stepping over a wobbly rock, I thought I'll just take a look and stick my hand into the unknown... hoping that not too many spiders, frogs, adders were be waiting to greet me....

... we found our first letterbox.......

As you can see there was much excitement and jumping around. We opened the pot to find a small film pot with a few strips of paper in them . The idea is that you leave your mark... usually a stamp and/or written comment and date, sometimes there is a stamp in the box for you to stamp your own letterboxing book (not in this one though). Well.... we hunted high and low for a pen in our bags... how unusual not to have one... I really did come very unprepared for this... I will be much better prepared next time!.... neither of us had a pen... the only thing we had between us was some lipstick... so there was nothing else to do except lipstick up and smooch away... at least we left our mark (not really sure if this is allowed but I just wasn't going to go home without acknowledging that I had found a letterbox!)

So... here's my friend Wendy leaving her mark....

S.W.A.L.K!!!

More wonderful views from the top of Yar Tor....

If you look carefully in the picture below ( zoom or magnifying glass might help) just to the left of centre you can see a very tall mast... that is Princetown where the famous dartmoor prison is situated...

Wendy and I then went on to find... and kiss(!!!!) 5 more letterboxes around this Tor....

"I found another one...."

We left our mark.....

.... and another one..... aghhhhh... it's got me!!!

We did have a laugh....

I just had to take this shot of the little blue VW camper van nestled in amongst all the brilliant yellow gorse....

One last lingering look at the moor before driving home via the river in my last post..... What an exciting, inspiring day... and many more happy memories stored away!

Time for me to pootle off to bed now.... dentist in the morning... I H.A.T.E. the dentist... it goes back along way... I ran out of the waiting room when I was 7 leaving my mum with 2 other small children and a newborn baby to see to... she was not best pleased!!! I promise not to run out in the morning but it will take everything in me to stay put... think of me! I shall have to lie back and think of dartmoor!

It was worth the risk....

January 30th 2009 was the day that I took my life into my own hands and did the scariest thing that I have ever done in my life.... but... I live to tell the tale... and it was FAB!

It was with some trepidation that Pam drove me to Motueka and a tiny airfield... if you can call it that... on a balmy, clear day. I was feeling more than a little nervous as Pam's experience of this event was not a good one... lets just say that she wasn't able to open her eyes AT ALL and thinks that I'm more than a little odd wanting to put myself through this. Actually, this is one of the things that I had on my 'To do' list whilst I was in New Zealand. I had told everyone at home that I was gong to do it and so I just couldn't go back without trying!

This little field is the airstrip and where it all begins.....

Here I am, all kitted up, being filmed... just in case I didn't make it... no not really, just kidding...

Final wave as we set off.... do I look slightly nervous or is it hysterical????

Yup, you've guessed it... that's me in that there plane, squashed, very tightly... if you know what I mean..... being strapped to a big burly Kiwi!.......

... and this is the moment that I was literally hanging into thin air... aghhhhhhh!!!! The guy on the right had a digital camera strapped to his head and a small bit in his mouth that he had to bite on the depress the shutter and take a photo... he also has a video camera attached to the side of the helmet... which means that I now have a short film where I am the main attraction!!!! Not ever likely to happen again!

.... and we're off!!!! .... to me it felt like an out of body experience... that's the only way I can describe it..... I wanted to stay calm, not think about the possible consequences and enjoy every moment. It's an amazing feeling, dropping from 13,000 feet and free falling for 50 seconds... feels like an eternity! The views were awesome!

... Bye bye plane....

... f..a..l..l..i..n..g..g..g..g..

Still falling at 200mph! But, look at those fabulous views... 3 mountain ranges, the sea, the Golden Spit.... A.W.E.S.O.M.E..

Hey Mum... look, I'm flying!

Actually, I think I look like a bug with that green helmet and goggles on!

Breathtaking....

Coming in to land about 5 minutes later....

Legs up, get ready to run.....

Touchdown....

Slightly wobbly legs, but safe.... can I go again... can I? Can I????

Thanks so much for giving me an amazing ride and for bringing me down safely... 'sweet as'!

I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to do this... I would dearly love to do it again! It has taught me so much.... if I hadn't taken the risk I NEVER would have known how amazing, stunning, brilliant and awesome it would be .... it's an attitude that I apply to life now... that if we don't take the risk we will always be wondering what it would have been like; missed out on SO much; and, what's the worse that could happen anyway? If you're toying with something... give it a go, take the risk, jump out of the plane and enjoy the ride.. you might just love it!

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On another note completely, I have had a wonderful day today too! It started with a fairly early drive across dartmoor to Princetown.... what a perfect day for the journey. We had a powder dusting of snow this morning and it had lingered on the moor... it looked like some one had taken a sieve full of icing sugar and dusted the surrounding countryside. The sun was out, the sky was blue ( I feel a song coming on!), the bracken was golden and my heat was singing... truely perfect!

I stopped to take a few photos on the way home but they really don't do the colours any justice....

Once in Princetown I went to the Duchy Square centre for creativity where I was booked on to a PMC taster session..... it was really inspiring and great fun. I have come away with a pendant and a pair of earrings... will have to show you tomorrow as the light has gone now for photos. I have to say though, the best bits of the day were driving to and from the venue across the moor.... note to self... must go there more often.