G4YSS Activation of NP5, NP10 & NP17 on 09-03-18
Issue-1
INGLEBOROUGH, PEN-Y-GHENT & FOUNTAINS FELL on 160m-80m-20m-4m-2m
GX0OOO/P SSEG (Op G4YSS):
G/NP-005 /6 INGLEBOROUGH
G/NP-010 /4 PEN-Y-GHENT
G/NP-017 /4 FOUNTAINS FELL
NP5: 160m-80m-20m CW/ SSB QRO
NP10: 2m-4m FM QRP
NP17: 160m-80m CW/ SSB QRO
G4YSS - Unaccompanied
All times UTC
Sun times: 06:40 and 18:00
EQUIPMENT :
HF - NP5 & NP17:
FT817ND HF/VHF/UHF 5W Transceiver
MX-P50M HF (80 thru’ 10) 50 Watt linear amplifier with 160m capability
Adjustable link dipole for 80-60-40-(30)-20 with loading coils for 160m
5m home-brew CFC mast with 1m end sticks
VHF - NP10:
Icom IC-E90 4 Band, 5W V-UHF H/H
UV-5R 2 Band, 5W V-UHF H/H (3 QSO’s only)
J-Pole half-wave vertical for 2m
Extended 2m helical for 4m
Batteries:
NP5: One 5 Ah Li-Po battery
NP10: Icom & Baofeng H/H’s integral batteries only.
NP17: One 5 Ah Li-Po battery
NP17: One 2.2 Ah reserve (not used)
Other:
Garmin Geko 301 GPS
Hitachi MP3 Player
DAB Cube Radio
Pack weights:
NP5 & NP17: 10.8kg (24 pounds) inc. 250ml water
NP10: 8kg (18 pounds) inc. 250ml water
INTRODUCTION:
With January sacrificed due to illness followed by the massive wind-chill factors and snow associated with the so called, ‘Beast from the East,’ I only managed one activating day this year. The Siberian weather wiped out late February and early March but that one expedition on 22nd of February brought me closer to a long running personal target of Top Band MG. By my reckoning, I still needed 15 points and today’s activations were intended to deliver that one final push.
Having grouped them together in 2007, 2008 and 2009, I know that these three summits can be comfortably activated in one day, so long as the total summit time is kept within limits. Hence the VHF only summit at midday.
Ingleborough has quite a long walk-in with the greatest ascent of the three (see foot of report) but routes for the other pair are shorter and have a common access road enabling high starts. From Scarborough the driving distance to this area is manageable and inter-summit driving is less than 15 miles.
Possible lying snow and blocked roads were concerns. As it turned out, there was snow on the road margins, some of it substantial but access was unimpaired.
By the time it gets to March, the optimal times for Top Band have been pushed too far apart to be convenient. It is getting light not much after six in the morning and darkness doesn’t come again until around 18:30. This implies early rising for activator and chasers alike. I dared not come up on the air any earlier than 07:30 even on a weekday and that equates to a setting off time of 03:30 from Scarborough. This is something I used to do routinely in SOTA but now I have developed an aversion to it.
The weather can be really annoying in this country and inconvenient too. With the end of winter bonus looming and after waiting nearly 2 weeks for a good forecast, I then find that the only decent day is on my XYL’s birthday! She wasn’t too pleased but accepted it grudgingly. Extra flowers, some spending money and a meal out helped smooth things over.
The weather also pushed this expedition into Roy’s 10 day break in Cyprus so there would be no G4SSH for spots, liaison or real-time band condition information.
One final concern this early in the morning was the availability of chasers, so as well as alerting the day before, I emailed a few of the regulars. In fact two of them turned it round 180 degrees on me. Both Phil G4OBK and Dave G4IAR would have to leave their respective shacks at 08:00 latest! With this in mind, I pulled the schedule back by 15 minutes and got up at 03:00.
Execution:
Left Scarborough at 03:25, driving via York, Harrogate, Skipton and arriving at Newby Cote Farm cross-roads (SD 7319 7053, 216m ASL). This is on the ‘C’ road which runs from Clapham and I parked on the grass verge at 05:40. Here a wooden sign reads ‘Ingleborough 2.5 miles.’
Booted up & set off walking in the dark at 05:56. Knowing it would soon be light, I didn’t bother with the headlamp and somehow got the wrong track which runs up to the farm dwellings. A short back-track was required. Fortunately I wasn’t detected by the farm-dogs.
For the most part, the path is evenly graded and passes initially over grass and later rock. It’s a fairly painless way to ascend the required 500m or so but it is also a fair distance. In what seems like an age, you reach Little Ingleborough’s shelter, which is at SD 7429 7352.
The marker cairn for the path off the summit plateau (important in cloud) is at SD 7438 7453. If you miss this right turn on the way down to pass the ruin at SD 7425 7342, you’ll end up in Clapham.
Warning: When you consider that Ingleborough is a mountain of character, this route doesn’t do justice to it. Though it is mostly well defined, the path can too easily be lost especially with snow cover, in the dark or in fog. I can testify to this but I now have 23 marked waypoints in the GPS. It was misty on the way up today and this lingered on the summit for a while.
INGLEBROUGH HILL, G/NP-005, 724m, 6 pts. 07:10 to 09:42. Minus 2C. 5 mph wind. Thin low-cloud followed by sunshine. Lying snow on the summit plateau and on the top section of the ascent path. (LOC: IO84TD, WAB: SD77, Trig: TP-4102). No EE mobile phone signal.
One worry had been erecting the antenna in the shelter but there was just enough snow to take the mast and end sticks. Good job too; the ground underneath was frozen solid. In fact once the sun came out, the summit with its covering of snow looked lovely. This early, I expected to have the summit to myself and that’s how it was for the first hour or more. At around 08:30 four walkers arrived but left again immediately after reaching the trig.
1.832 CW - 1 QSO at 07:40:
The QRV time was 10 minutes earlier than alerted. Normally I would have called G4SSH first but in Roy’s absence my son Phil picked up the first CQ on an internet receiver in Nantwich and immediately spotted me. That resulted in two stations; G0HIO Mike in Burton-on-Trent and G4OOE Nick in Scarborough, calling me but try as I may from 07:33 to 07:40, I just could not get them to hear me.
This was frustrating but then came G4OBK (Pickering) with an easy 569 to 579 signal. Phil gave me 449 to open the account but there were no further callers. I elected to try SSB and return to CW later. When I did so, at 08:05 I heard Sake PA0SKP calling. He wasn’t strong but he was perfectly readable at 519. Unfortunately he couldn’t hear his report which made three abortive QSO’s.
I came back to CW at 08:12 to call G0HIO; G4OOE and PA0SKP again but nothing was heard.
1.843 SSB - 8 QSO’s from 07:43:
First to answer the CQ was M3FEH Karl in Cornwall. His 10 Watts were only just audible so he got 33 from me, coming back with a 55. Phil G4OBK was next with a 57/ 43 exchange. Dave G4IAR got in with a few minutes to spare and 55 both ways, before having to be elsewhere, then there was a strong call-in from Nick G8VNW, close-by in Wharfedale. Despite his proximity (27km ESE of NP5) Nick could only give me a 47 report but he was 57 on the meter.
The final four were Terry G0VWP in York and G7LMF Graham in SJ61, both with 55 both ways. Geoff GM4WHA called in from Annan, just before leaving for the shop in Penrith but we could only muster 33 between us. Brian G8ADD (55) scraped in at the end giving me a surprising 58 from Birmingham.
The session spanned 17 minutes, ending at eight o’clock. Power was 50 Watts and though no further CQ’s were answered, morale was high.
3.557.6 CW - 3 QSO’s:
3.557 had a QSO on it. Expecting 80-CW to be quite good, it was disappointing to work only three stations on here. However, after his failure on 160m, I was pleased to see that Nick G4OOE was one of them. G0BPU Mike was next and PA0SKP Sake, also a casualty on Top Band, made it into the 80m log at 599/ 339. Power was 30 Watts.
3.760 SSB - 20 QSO’s:
3.724 was noisy with strong adjacent stations so the WAB frequency was used instead. It didn’t take long to get going.
In the log: MW0ISC Steve; G3PRI Dave; G6MZX Geoff; G0RQL Don; G4PDF Bob; G0VWP Terry; M0JLA Rod; MM0XPZ Steve; G6NHW Pete; M3FEH Karl; M0BKV Damien; MW0BYS Bill; MM6DBT John; ON4VT Dan; G4WHA/A Geoff; MW1BLE Colin; G8ADD Brian; G0TDM John; MW0XOT John and G0NBI Graham.
Apart from a very few in the range 53 to 57, all reports were 59. The 80m band was really open. Using a power of 30 Watts, this lucrative session took just 27 minutes from 08:37 to 09:03. What next?
14.052.6 CW – 7 QSO’s:
It was now a cold but beautiful morning and I didn’t want to leave. I had time and battery Voltage to spare so how best to use it? Terry G0VWP answered a spot request on 80m SSB, otherwise this band wouldn’t have been included. Seven stations were worked just as soon as I had opened the 20m dipole links.
In the log: SP9AMH/ QRP Mariusz; SP8RHP Robert; OH3GZ Jukka; OE7PHI Hans; YO2BP Alex; IK2LEY Fabio and EU2MM Vlad. All reports were in the range 57 to 59 except the one incoming from Italy which was 559. Power was 30 Watts for the first four and 50 Watts for the last three QSO’s.
14.285 SSB – Nil:
I tried a CQ on the SSB frequency of 14.285 but without success. As it turned out there wouldn’t have been the power left for this anyway and I hadn’t brought a spare battery.
Descent and drive:
Still slightly ahead of schedule, the walk down was unrushed and in mostly clear conditions, apart from a thin mist half way down. The car was regained at 10:43.
The 12 mile drive to Dale Head Farm, on the ‘C’ road from Stainforth to Halton Gill, took until 11:16. Only after arriving was the rucksack repacked with VHF kit. There was little point in disturbing it until the road state could be checked. I might have had to go for an alternative and if that was going to be Dodd Fell, I would need HF. The ‘C’ road had apparently been blessed with plenty of snow but thanks to the plough, it was now only on the verges.
I was walking again by 11:36 after ritually paying my £1 to the newly painted honesty Box near Dale Head Farm (SD 8426 7145). The route goes up the track to the farm, after which there was an old 2-foot deep snow drift blocking the way for vehicles. There were one or two more like it on the way up until more consistent snow was met near the top. Quite a few others had the idea to climb Pen-y-Ghent today. It certainly is a popular hill.
PEN-Y-GHENT, G/NP-010, 694m, 4pts, 12:23 to 13:53, 4 Deg. C, 5 mph wind. No low-cloud and some sunshine. Deep lying snow beside the wall and patches elsewhere. (LOC: IO84VD; WAB: SD87; Trig: TP-5414). Poor EE mobile phone signal.
I set up the J-Pole on a short mast jammed in the pig wire at the top of the wall and connected the UV-5R handheld. An area of snow drift then got trampled flat to take the sit mat about 30m SW of the trig and shelter.
145.400 FM - 14 QSO’s:
Knowing Geoff might just be listening at the shop in Penrith, I called G4WHA/A on S16 first but he must have either had a customer to serve or was on lunch break.
After a quick CQ on S20 went unanswered, a flick through the channels revealed a strong signal. This resulted in an S2S with Caroline and Martyn (M3ZCB and M1MAJ) both portable on Grisedale Pike G/LD-015. The signal reports were 59 both ways and I noted that they had come up from Whinlatter Pass. A good start.
Next to Call was Mike G4BLH/M who was near home at Clitheroe but out mobile in the hope of a better signal, which indeed was 59 both ways. Mike and I arranged to QSY and meet on 4m-FM (see 70.450 below).
Next I worked Rob G0RQJ who told me that his SOTA activities were temporarily curtailed pending attention to his eye. I had to swap the rig at this point. Rob was breaking up badly due to noise entering and overloading the UV-5R. From this point the IC-E90 was used.
The remaining stations worked are listed below:
G6YGP Dave - Ormskirk; 2E0HTC Gary - Barrow; G4ZRP Brian - Wirral; GM3VMB Peter near Lockerbie; G6XBF Walt in Leeds; M0VZT Bob in Telford; M3ULT Shaun - Wombwell; G4WHA/A Geoff - Penrith; G1OHH Sue in Lancaster and finally G4XTE Jim between Halifax & Huddersfield. Sue tells me she is now a Great Grandma.
I was surprised to work Bob in Telford so easily. He was using 40 watts from an FT 857 and I think he said that his antenna was indoors. He reported, ‘No movement on the ‘S’ Meter but excellent audio.’ This I interpreted as 51 so that’s what went into the log.
Brian told me that he’d been unable to work me on 2m-FM last year when I was on Snowdon, He thought it was due to the UV-5R overloading but at the time I didn’t notice anything untoward. Nothing like the audible racket which wiped Rob out at any rate and I worked nearly 40 stations on 2m from NW1, the majority with the Chinese rig. However I am now convinced of its shortcomings, particularly when attached to an external aerial.
5 Watts were used throughout the 43 minute session but the latter included a brief excursion to 4m. Signal reports were mainly 59, with the exception of Geoff 59/ 41; the aforementioned 51 from Bob, 52 from Peter and 54 from Jim.
70.450 FM – 1 QSO:
At 12:50, during the 2m-FM session, I QSY’d to work Mike G4BLH/M near his home QTH in Clitheroe. Using the IC-E90 and extended helical, we easily exchanged 57 reports.
After the 2m session at 13:28, a couple of CQ’s were put out on 70.450 but there were no takers. There wasn’t sufficient time to erect the 4m-band half-wave I’d brought up with me. NP17 and Top Band now became the focus.
Descent and short drive:
Carefully climbing down the (in places) snow covered rocky southern route, I was back to the car at 14:27. Another few minutes were used up re-packing the rucksack for NP17 and Top Band.
Looking across at the amount of snow on the western flank of my next target, I was feeling a little like, ‘Shall I just go home?’ The east side of Pen-y-Ghent had been swept almost clean of snow by the vicious Siberian wind of 10 days prior but anything west-facing had a lot more snow still remaining.
After some food and electrolytes I drove the mile north to attempt NP17. As in the past the intention was to take a direct line straight up beside the wall but I didn’t like what I saw after stopping the car. There was a great deal of snow on the very steep final section. It was not exactly a cornice but it looked feet deep just down from the lip and I assumed it would be an exhausting effort, especially when carrying an HF station. Obvoiusly the gale force east winds had swept the summit plateau and dumped it just over the edge. I thought about taking the ice axe to make a path but in softening snow I’d be digging deep and any gain would be minimal.
I was walking again from Blishmire cattle grid (SD 8531 7233.) by 14:55 and after 5 minutes I met two men who were coming down. Knowing I’d be coming off in the dark and after a discussion I decided to break with tradition and follow the Pennine Way up; the way they had just come down after visiting the summit cairn. It was still be significantly snow covered but grassy bits here and there would give respite.
Apparently these two had looked over the snowy obstacle from above and decided against going straight down. To be fair, they did have a Yorkshire terrier with them which is not a large dog. They further warned against melting snow overlying slimy mud and asked me what Pen-y-Ghent was like for snow and whether I thought they’d get down its west side. I replied that it was snowy at that side but that I’d seen people heading off that way. This exchange of information was very useful. The Pennine Way approach was now looking favourite.
Where the PW swings left, I met a young couple who mentioned they’d just ‘shot down’ into snow up to their waists. Further up still, four middle-aged ladies (as they described themselves) were picking their way carefully down. To be honest I have never seen so many people on Fountain’s Fell. In fact this late in the day there’s usually nobody.
It’s many a long year since I used the round-the-houses route to NP17. Following the PW was straightforward but there weren’t any waypoints in the GPS for finding the easiest route across the summit plateau after rounding the right hand bend at SD 8666 7213.
After walking a little further along the snow covered path, I could see a wall stile ahead. My sole interest was activating rather than visiting the summit cairn so I turned off the path well before this at around SD 8665 7193 to head cross-country, crossing hags and snowy gullies, until I found a raised quad track at around SD 8656 7180. This enabled easier walking for a while, then I followed the wall to the corner, choosing a spot to operate at SD 8635 7161, which is close to a second wall stile that gives access to the summit cairn.
There was plenty of snow on the summit and some big drifts near the walls. There were patches of grass but the ground was frozen solid everywhere I probed. After much forcible stabbing, I managed to get the mast into a grass tussock and the end sticks in snow. The indirect route had taken more time which now put me a few minutes behind schedule.
FOUNTAINS FELL, G/NP-017, 668m, 4pts, 15:46 to 18:13, 3 Deg. C, 5 mph wind. Overcast but no low-cloud. Lying snow especially against the walls. (LOC: IO84VD; WAB: SD87; No Trig). Good EE mobile phone coverage.
3.557 CW - 7 QSO’s:
Starting late at 16:13 the following stations were worked with 30 Watts: G0BPU Mike (actually worked with 5 Watts before I switched on the amp); MW0BBU Steve; G3TJE Peter; G0HIO Mike; G4FGJ Gordon; DL6AP Andreas in Rostock and G4WSB Bill in Swindon.
Outgoing reports were all 599. Reports on my signals were between 539 and 599 with one 339 (complete with accompanying apology) from Gordon. I still don’t know what was happening on the frequency. I’d been on there for 17 minutes but was hearing loud exchanges ‘QSY’s’ and a few ‘HEE HEE’s.’ Thinking I may not have checked the frequency properly in the first place, I backed off confused and went to SSB. A timid attitude for sure but I’d rather avoid confrontation. By then there were no more chasers calling anyway.
3.726 SSB - 26 QSO’s:
Power was left at 30 Watts. I had to nudge up from 3.724 to avoid a strong station but this had been anticipated by G8ADD using pure logic. Though it was 2 kHz up from the alerted frequency, Brian was right back to me the moment I checked if it was clear. Apparently this was the only clear space available on this bit of the band. Brian and I exchanged 59 reports and had a quick chat about two of our favourite subjects; mountains and Top Band.
After G8ADD, the following stations were logged: G8VNW Nick; G0VWP Terry; M0JLA; M3FEH Karl; EI3GYB Michael (Mayo); G4WHA/A Geoff; G4PDF Bob; G4WSB Bill; G0RQL Don; G0TDM John; PA0U Gerry.
By now there was quite a pileup so a list was made. Quite a few amateur ops don’t like lists, I’m told but it helps me keep a track of proceedings. However, the freezing, ungloved right hand made for slow writing and risked further chaser frustration.
Next: ON4VT Dan; PA0SKP Sake; M0MDA Mick; DJ5AV Mike; G1OCN Dave; G4IPB Paul; 2E0TBD/P Andy; EA2DT Manuel; G4DQB/M Geoff calling from a canal boat in Shropshire; 2E0VMD Helen; G4OOE Nick in Scarborough; G3RDQ David; M0NTC Gez and G4OBK Phil who had just landed back from work. Excellent; he would now be able to help the 160m cause.
The majority were strong and 59 to me, with a couple of 57’s and a 58. Weaker exceptions were G4WHA/A, G4OOE both 55, M3FEH 56 and 44 for M0NTC. Incoming reports were in the range 56 to 57 and some gave me 59 plus. Mick in Leeds M0MDA reported 52 to 59 QSB, which in terms of dB is quite a range. Stations not hearing me so well were: G0TDM 43; G1OCN 56; 2E0TBD 47; EA2DT 45; DJ5AV 37; M0NTC 55 and Nick G4OOE 33.
Nick first called me off frequency (LF) which made him hard to identify. He then moved HF of me but I got the 33 in the end. I think the problem may have been that I wasn’t on my normal frequency and he was hearing me so badly he couldn’t net. Nick lives down the hill near Scarborough hospital and his noise levels are absolutely massive. He probably wasn’t hearing the chasers either and probably had to ‘wing it.’ Just a theory. No matter it was a good QSO in the end as I heard him QSL my report.
Once again in the melee someone panicked that his call-in hadn’t been heard. I think it was Don G0RQL who reassured this station with, ‘Your on the list.’
It was now time to insert the loading coils but first I had to get my right hand back into the land of the living. I decided to try out a chemical hand-warmer; only the second time I’ve used one; first time Ben Nevis in February 2006. I had two but one had gone solid because of an unseen ripped wrapper and the second one split, spilling metal powder on the snow. This was bundled back in its packet and put into the mitten. It helped eventually but dexterity was the casualty. Further comfort was sought from a scotch egg (see photo) and two chocolate biscuits.
1.832 CW - 2 QSO’s from 17:20:
The coils tuned up first time but I was 20 minutes later than the alerted time. G4OBK Phil was a good signal at 589 but I noticed QSB down to 539. He gave my 50 Watts 559. The only other station to call in CW was David G3RDQ in Stockbridge, Hampshire - 559 both ways. There was still almost 40 minutes to go before sunset but 160m was delivering. However, a further 2 QSO’s were needed to qualify on 160m so it was over to SSB.
1.843 SSB - 10 QSO’s from 17:30 to 17:52:
With the power setting left at 50 Watts and in very loud FT8 QRM, which had crept up from its allocation again, I logged the following chasers:
G8VNW Nick; 15km ESE of me in Wharfedale was 59 (both ways); M3FEH Karl in Saltash’ Cornwall (44 both ways). Oh Joy! Karl’s QSO was the one required to qualify Top Band for this summit and furthermore (if my calculations were correct) gain me a 160m MG certificate which has been 14 years in the making! That’s it, I can go home now. Just kidding.
Next to call was G8ADD Brian in Birmingham with his low-slung antenna (56/ 44); G0VWP Terry in York (2 x 55); ON7ZM John 57 both ways; G4OBK Phil in Pickering (57/ 44); G4IAR Dave using his 80m dipole extended for 160m (2 x 55); G4RQJ Rob on Walney Island 57/ ‘11’ which in theory doesn’t count (whereas 21 would); EI3GYB Michael in Mayo (55/ 31) and finally G6MZX Geoff struggling with my signal 23km south of me at Thornton-in-Craven (55/ 33). There were no more takers.
I couldn’t see it in the overcast but as I was collecting up the gear to go down, the sun was setting. I walked off at 18:13 safe in the knowledge that I ought to at least get back across the summit plateau to the Pennine Way before darkness fell. In fact it was almost fully dark as I rounded the bend on the PW in a big snow drift following two mountain bike tracks which hadn’t been there earlier.
With cheapo headlight in place (I still haven’t found my Petzl) it was now just a matter of carefully following the PW down to the car whilst avoiding deep snow wherever possible. What couldn’t be avoided had to be walked over but I was lucky enough not to sink in more that about eight inches. However, that was enough to give me wet feet.
Reaching the car at 18:50 was a huge relief after a long day. With 10 minutes to remove boots and stow the equipment, and a queue for roadworks on the A64 near Sheriff Hutton, I didn’t get home until 21:35, more than 18 hours after setting out. The total distance driven was 208 miles via Skipton, Harrogate and York and traffic was heavier than expected.
QSO’S: 99 comprising:
NP-005: 39 (1 x 160m CW; 8 x 160m SSB; 3 x 80m CW; 20 x 80m SSB; 7 x 20m CW)
NP-010: 15 (14 x 2m-FM; 1 x 4m-FM)
NP-017: 45 (7 x 80m CW; 26 x 80m SSB; 2 x 160m CW; 10 x 160m SSB)
One S2S: From NP10 with Caroline M3ZCB and Martyn M1MAJ/P on GLD-015.
BATTERY UTILISATION:
NP-005: One Turnigy 5 Ah Li-Po battery (tested - 95% discharged)
NP-010: Handheld integral battery only
NP-017: One Turnigy 5 Ah Li-Po battery (tested - 66% discharged)
One 2.2 Ah Li-Po battery (Carried but not used)
Round Trip Ascent & Distance:
NP-005: 510m (1,673ft) ascent, 10 km (6.3 miles). 74U, 61D.
NP-010: 270m (886ft) ascent, 5.5 km (3.4 miles). 47U, 34D.
NP-017: 250m (820ft) ascent, 3.7 km (2.3 miles). 51U, 37D (via PW including talk stops)
Totals: 1,030m (3,379ft) ascent, 19.2 km (12 miles) walked.
Times: 2hr-52 min of ascent; 2hr-12 min of descent
Total walking time: 5hr-4 min at 2.4mph ave.
Summit times: NP5: 2h-32m. NP10: 1h-30m. NP17: 2h-27m
Tot: 6hr-29m
Home to Home: 18hr-10min.
Chronology:
Left Scarborough: 03:25
Arr. Newby Cote Farm (98 miles): 05:40
Walk for NP5: 05:56
NP5: 07:10 to 09:42
Rtn. Newby Cote Farm: 10:43
Drive to Dale Head Farm (12 miles): 10:50 to 11:16
Walk for NP10: 11:36
NP10: 12:23 to 13:53
Rtn. Dale Head Farm: 14:27
Drive to Blishmire cattle grid (1 mile): 14:45 to 14:50
Walk for NP17: 14:55
NP17: 14:56 to 18:13
Rtn. Blishmire cattle grid: 18:50
Drive home (77 miles): 19:00 to 21:35 (10 min at A64 road works)
Distance driven: 208 miles (98+12+1+97)
Activator points: 23 (inc 9 WB)
Qualified 160m on NP5 & NP17
Attained 160m MG on NP17