Transmissions from Leith Hill, Surrey (SOTA G/SE-002)
The Society has a privileged arrangement with the National Trust which
allows it and members to operate from the highest point in the South
East of England, for which it pays £50 per annum. Arrangements can be
made via the Society’s Vice-Chairman, Jon Weller. ( jon.weller@btinternet.com )
You make it sound like the Dorking and District Amateur Radio Society has exclusive rights to operate from Leith Hill. Can this be right? According to SOTAWatch, it has been activated 55 times, including a recent activation by the ubiquitous G4WSB/P.
In G4ERP’s note on this web site, he says all that was necessary was to speak informally to the NT Warden upon arrival, just to confirm that there was no objection to a SOTA activation.
Goodness knows there are enough access restrictions to summits on the UK without creating new ones!
(By the way, I pay almost £50 a year to the National Trust - my personal membership fee.)
Like you, I was somewhat taken aback by this posting but I thought I would leave it a while to see if Les replied to clarify his wording.
I don’t understand the point of his missive. It is almost as if he sent it to the wrong forum and it is completely unclear whether it affects SOTA operations (which I find hard to believe).
It is some time since I was there and it’s possible that things may have changed. One thing that won’t have changed is the popularity of this beauty spot so again I would suggest an early morning or weekday activation. There isn’t a huge amount of room on the summit.
On my first (& only) activation of this hill, I asked the NT staff in the cafe/shop in the tower if they had any objections. They said so long as I dont monopolise the bench & stay away from their customers & keep the noise down Id be ok. I operated in the trees about 100m from the tower & couldn`t hear myself think due to the hoardes of kids shouting & screaming on mountain bikes. For me, a tick in the box never to be repeated.
I arrived early evening and found the NT had gone home for the day. The summit was still quite crowded so I moved downhill on the north side and set up in the middle of some vegetation. Unfortunately this did not stop me being a target for every unrestrained dog on the hill, every obnoxious child nor their exceptionally daft parents with their inane questions.
Likewise definitely not on my “must return” list. Give me a peaceful remote hill any time - something like Garreg-hir GW/MW-017 will do quite nicely thanks!
I think Les was simply passing on a press release received from the DDRS. I should imagine that the special permission involves vehicle access, use of mains power, having aerials set up all day long etc. We know from the past that NT is happy to accept short-duration low-impact activities (such as a ‘normal’ activation) and explicit permission for such is not necessary.
Bearing in mind the above, it may be worth checking if you work one of these Leith Hill operations whether they are SOTA qualifying or not.
Jimmy and I quite enjoyed the hill when we did it. A pleasant short walk through woodland, and a welcome snack and drink from the shop at the top. ISTR that even around 5pm on a Saturday it was pretty busy though - and I suffered badly from hayfever on the activation!
Some 50-odd years ago when I was t’but a school lad we went from a central London school to school camp with tents and things in Surrey and one of the day’s hikes was to Leith Hill to climb the tower. Myself and a couple school friends also covertly did a midnight walk up there and wolfed down baked beans cooked in the tin over a wood fire. Leith Hill at that time was quiet, seemingly remote and very peaceful. From all the activator’s reports I have read it now seems to have changed out of all recognition. Despite being based in the SE it will not be a summit I will activate to avoid my childhood memories being ruined.
Leith Hill at that time was quiet, seemingly remote and very
peaceful. From all the activator’s reports I have read it now seems to
have changed out of all recognition. Despite being based in the SE it
will not be a summit I will activate to avoid my childhood memories
being ruined.
It does still have the advantage of being very close to a pub called The Plough Inn at Coldharbour, which is the home of the Leith Hill Microbrewery! CAMRA recommended … and I can vouch for the quality of the beverages on offer!
(hic!)
It does still have the advantage of being very close to a pub called
The Plough Inn at Coldharbour, which is the home of the Leith Hill
Microbrewery! CAMRA recommended … and I can vouch for the quality
of the beverages on offer!
(hic!)
Hmmm, your secret is out now Walt. There must be good real ale pubs close to Seager Hill and Hegdon Hill as you seem to make copious return visits to those summits
I was probably unaware of such dens of iniquity in my youth
Walt, perhaps you could PM me sometime on alan@copperwaite.co.uk re the Paddington Club in 60s? Look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Alan G8AQO
In reply to M0DDC:
Leith Hill at that time was quiet, seemingly remote and very
peaceful. From all the activator’s reports I have read it now
seems to
have changed out of all recognition. Despite being based in the
SE it
will not be a summit I will activate to avoid my childhood
memories
being ruined.
It does still have the advantage of being very close to a pub called
The Plough Inn at Coldharbour, which is the home of the Leith Hill
Microbrewery! CAMRA recommended … and I can vouch for the quality
of the beverages on offer!
(hic!)
In reply to G3NYY:
What this actually means is that the Dorking Club can go onto the site through the gate which they have a key for and take cars etc with them, Hence how we can run VHF Field day from there!
It does not stop anyone going up there but they will not be in their cars!!
Hope that helps?
Regards,
Nik M5DND
ex member now country member of the Dorking and District Radio Soc. Now living in South Shropshire.
Hmmm, your secret is out now Walt. There must be good real ale pubs
close to Seager Hill and Hegdon Hill as you seem to make copious
return visits to those summits
Tee hee! I’m sure you know Herefordshire is CIDER country, Gerald!
:-))))
P.S. The Trumpet Inn, at the Trumpet crossroads, serves an acceptable pint of Wadworth’s real ale … and a more than acceptable curry on Fridays! That just happens to be on my way home from both summits.
From the timing of your post I see that you had a disturbed night Walt - probably too much alcohol? Bizarrely I was also awake at that time (01:57), but on account of the Barn Owl chorus (own one, invite the locals round for a screech).
As for Wadworths, with you there 100%. The problem is that the physical exertion of climbing hills more or less dulls all interest in alcoholic beverages and on the few occasions that Paul and I have fancied a pint, the local hostelry has been closed. C’est la vie!
I seem to recall that after my visit to Leith Hill I was ready for a drink, but the M25 beckoned and I couldn’t be bothered to seek out a suitable pub. Obviously poor planning on my part!
The only cold beer I like is Hellas and that is usually quoffed when the temperature exceeds 30C in SV8 land. Of course there is no real ale on tap over there - if there were, the yellow stuff wouldn’t get a look in, even at such high temperatures.
Might I suggest you get yourself down south to activate a few LD’s and stop over in Cockermouth and try the Lakeland Golden (4.3% ABV) at The Bitter End pub. Might just get over there myself in the not too distance future.