70cm Challenge flavour

At the parking spot in Rylstone. Looks like it’s going to be a rotter of a day. Trying to summon up strength and spirit to make a start…

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Thanks for the contacts Tom - especially the last one from G/WB-018 View Edge above Stokesay Castle/Craven Arms. You were our 4th 70cm contact and ensured we qualified the hill on 70cm so we left swiftly as we knew the A40 was going to close for the night at 8pm near Leominster. We made it with 10mins to spare. Be warned anyone else going through that stretch for almost the rest of the month I think (re-surfacing).

After a fairly unrewarding start on 70cm ssb on Wednesday on CE-002 and 003 M0JLA decided to join my 70cm fm ‘party’ in the evening on G/WB-009 Worcester Beacon when we bagged 12 70cm contacts. After another look at the forecast we went out again the next day onto WB-005 (Pole Bank, 8 70cm fm, sodden by the time we reached the car), WB-003 (Stiperstones, 10 70cm fm, rain stopped after parking the car, some light showers), G/WB-007 (Heath Mynd, 10 70cm - an incredible result from a small hill!, light shower) and G/WB-018 (View Edge) which, with a new mobile phone mast and ruining of the footpath, was a sad end to a long day. Certainly an amzing clutch of 70cm contacts and we had gained some dedicated followers but little View Edge, as expected, was impossible for all but the dedicated (2E0MDJ, G0LGS), near (G4HQB) and yourself.

Ambitious plans for 4 more WB summits on Saturday (BTW the faulty coax has been in M0JLA’s workshop and should be OK now - please listen out and confirm/deny!) and the alerts are up but may need some adjusting. M0JLA will probably have another go at 432.275 but not sure on which hill as we have to ‘socially distance’ if I’m not to be swamped. Then possibly something Sunday morning and then… if Wales will let us (along with the weather!) some smallish summits on Monday/Tuesday. Please keep on listening and grateful thanks to you and other contacts. Hope you have dried out now, Tom!
73 Viki

I’m struggling to think of any July day ever with as bad weather as today. It never stopped raining all day in the Dales. The wind was blowing a gale and it was very cold. It was more like November. A horrible day in November at that.

Cracoe Fell G/NP-032 - a favourite circular walk of mine starting and finishing in Rylstone, and going in an anticlockwise direction. The Cracoe Fell section itself is a satisfyingly long section of (broad) ridge walk - even on a rotter of a day like today.

70cm FM: 4 QSOs
70cm C4FM: 1 QSO
2m FM: 1 QSO

Sharp Haw G/NP-029 - usual walk up from the corner of Bog Lane. Wx and visibility so poor that I only saw the hilltop on the very final approach!

70cm FM: 4 QSOs

Rombalds Moor G/NP-028 - usual walk up the flattish flagged path from the car park at the end of Ilkley Road. Struggle to get qualified on this one - took nearly half-an-hour on the handheld.

70cm FM: 2 QSOs
2m FM: 2 QSOs

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Once - same weekend (VHF NFD) and it snowed!!
I take my hat off to you for continually punishing your body to get up a hill in foul conditions - even to participate in this Challenge

It snowed up at the Tan Hill Inn last night.

Guess you could “socially distance” there.
Pictures from cities are a bit depressing - London Soho in particular

Just remember Barry, only the extremes of bad news make the edit on TV bulletins and the like. Just had my first revisit to a pub for a pint after a couple of activations this morning. Excellent policies, procedures, mitigations in place. All good, no problems.

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Weeks of waiting for GW access now over. Will see how it looks on Monday 06/07/2020. Will beat a hasty retreat if chaos ensues but hope for three good activations for the 2020Challenge.
73,
Rod