You what?!
I’ve only climbed Arthur’s Seat once, over 50 years ago, inspired by a book (Arthur’s Seat: A Ruined Volcano, by T Cuthbert Day) and enjoyed exploring its lava flows, vents, sills and agglomerates. Of course I had no idea of activating it, it would have needed a pack horse to get the AM 2m rigs of the day to the top (and indeed at that time the lowest band for the B licence was 70cm!), and SOTA was far in the future. I think I owe it another visit…
Hi
I got my permit without an issue. I e-mailed rangers@hes.scot on the 6th Aug and received the permit on the 7th Aug. I wish all government departments responded at that speed.
The reply included the following line:-
"As you have given me sufficient information (equipment and methodology) I have attached a letter of permission which covers the month of August. "
Here are the words I sent:-
Hello
I hope this is the correct e-mail address.
I would like to come with my small radio equipment to make a few contacts from Arthurs Seat. This is part of the Amateur Radio “Summits on the Air” program.
The dates would be Thur 10th Aug or Fri 11th Aug subject to the weather, however if you could issue a permit for the remainder of August that would be great. This would let me coordinate with one of the Scottish radio clubs in Glasgow if the above two dates do not work out. I will only be on the radio on Arthurs Seat for about 1.5 hours at the most.
The radio equipment be a “Walkie-Talkie” type of transceiver and a 5m fishing pole antenna. I may also have a small WiFi type of antenna. There will be no long wires to cause a trip hazard. All the power levels comply with the Heath and Safety levels set down by Ofcom where there is access by the general public.
My Callsign is G4VFL.
The small WiFi was for 13cm.
73 de
Andrew.
Was that aimed at me for wanting to do it again? I have a sound reason. It means I will drink less at our Christmas meal and have a clear head the next day. I will casually mention I’ve been up a hill to my hungover colleagues while we are waiting for the train back to Aberdeen. 
Well done. Thanks for the tips Andrew. I’ll send an email similar to yours.
I did contemplate jumping off the train at Laurencekirk and nipping up Hill of Garvock again, but it is an unfriendly hill, with gates to climb and cows everywhere, not to mention trying to get back to the station to continue my journey north, so Arthur’s Seat it is.
No, Fraser, I had to read Andy’s comment a few times to make sense of it! 
It was quite straightforward really.
Anyway SFI is 194 so a small unique gathering trip is called for tomorrow as the WX looks OK.
Indeed… and very helpful HES were. I contacted them via Rangers@hes.scot and got a prompt response from David McCulloch, the Administration Co-ordinator. He asked for some information as to where I would be in Holyrood Park and I supplied a map indicating the AZ. I also supplied a photo of the pegs we typically use to guy our poles in order to allay any concern that the operation might affect “the historic fabric or buried archaeology with the Park”.
I expected to be on the east side of the summit, but couldn’t find the gorse bush described by Phil G4OBK in his blog, so I ended up just down from the summit on the north side. Using headphones kept enquiries from the public to a minimum, indeed no-one bothered me once I was up and running. You are asked to have a print out of the letter giving permission to operate radio with you in case you are approached by a ranger.
73, Gerald
Maybe not a place to erect HF linked dipole then?
Email sent. Let’s see what comes back.
Email received, along with letter of permission. Game on for a quick HF activation of Arthur’s Seat using my 17’ vertical plus two counterpoises.
I used a Slidewinder based vertical with two 5 metre radials strung out NNW and WNW, these going out almost to a steep drop off. Even so some guys decided to walk around the ends of the radials close to the edge… obviously didn’t suffer from vertigo. I think a linked dipole would work better on the south side where the public are less likely to be. The view over the city attracts them to the north side.
Thanks Richard. I was considering a Slidewinder type setup for HF.
Saw your alert for Thursday morning, should just fit in with tea break and time to get outside with the radio.
Andy
MM7MOX
Excellent Andy. Even if the weather’s poor, I’ll still run up with the handie.
Sorry Folks. I seem to have spotted as GM/SS-072. I was in fact on GM/SS-272. Pease correct your logs if necessary. I’ll stick a wee report up later on.
Blame it on the hangover.
I fixed the spot when I noticed the typo.
2024 Report
Twenty five of us assembled at Edinburgh’s Hotel Indigo for the work Christmas meeting and night out. 1pm and I was presented with my first drink. It was going to be a long day!
Thursday December 7th 2023
0700 alarm. Tentatively open one eye, then the other. So far, so good. Head feels ok. Up, shower, rearrange the Mammut 15l pack, stuffing last nights clothes to the bottom, bringing radios, hat, waterproof and down jacket to the top.
0730 breakfast. I’m first down. Full Scottish, taking a leaf out of @M1EYP Tom’s book. Plenty of coffee consumed and I’m good to go just before 8am.
I wander out of the hotel in the semi-light, cross over Princes Street and onto the North Bridge, with its’ endless roadworks. Down The Royal mile. Just me and a few early morning workers, them scurrying in and out of the many Closes, Pends and Wynds that chaotically line this, the most famous of streets in the old town.
Next, I pass the Scottish parliment building, Salisbury crags still a silhouette in the gloom. I follow the pavement along the bottom of the crags, eventually reaching the rough eroded track that wiggles up towards the top of Arthur’s Seat. It is a cool and very breezy morning. I am already worrying about arrangements at the top. I have no guy ropes.
As I approach the summit area, there are a couple of folk visible at the top. Some tourists made the trip early. Ignoring the trig for now, I head for the north edge of the summit rocks, seeking a perch for me and my kit. The rocks are polished with the pounding of many, many feet and care is needed.
The station looks like this. Me perched on a ledge, sitting on last nights clothes (don’t tell Mo). My legs are on a lower ledge. I have the rucksack tied to my left leg in two places, using the waist and chest straps. The carbon 6 mast rises out of the side pocket, trapped by my leg and the chest strap. Two radials are roughly strewn across the ground, with a vertical wire up the mast. A 49:1 connects this lot to my KX2, it still inside the GoPro case that I managed to squeeze everything in. It looks like it will all hold. Equally importantly, it tunes up ok on 40m.
A Spot and I get going, with pre-warned @2M0WNA Mike first in my log. Then a decent run ending with @MM7MOX Andy, who was /p and very close. He put his friend on. Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack! The mast collapses into itself and the wire lies tangled on the ground. “Will he still be there if I re-erect it, or should I shut down and go to 2m? No, that’s not fair”.
The mast goes up, the wire untangles. Contact completed. A few more, then QRT. I pack the HF kit up, retrieve the Yaesu VX7r from a rock and get going on 2m with the Diamond RH-770. Seven QSO’s added to the log and lots of friendly locals, many whom I haven’t worked for a while, including @MM0FMF Andy. I’m going to guess that was two years ago, same day, when I was on Ben Cleuch.
Calls dry up, fingers numb, summit getting busy. Time to go! Strap on the radio and start carefully descending the greasy and polished rocks, passing a stream of folk coming up. The same route is retraced - almost. This time I walk a little bit past the North Bridge, taking the medieval sounding Fleshmarket Close, a steep stepped lane that lands me right at the back door of Waverley railway station. The time is 1015. Just in time for the 1030 to Aberdeen.
Oh, the 1030 is cancelled. That given me an hour to correct my log, which is entierly incorrect, with every entry logged as GM/SS-072 instead of GM/SS-272. My bad. 0 isn’t anywhere near 2 on the phone keyboard, so I can’t even blame my fat frozen thumbs. Apologies and I will try to do better next time.
Thank you chasers everywhere. Might see you, same time, same place December 2024.
I think it was same day after your works do Bit easier to get up Arthur’s Seat than Ben Cleuch. You were an OK signal considering I was just on the standard rubber duck in the spare bedroom/office. There’s 3 laptops, 2x 24in monitors, docking stations and many switching PSUs so a fair bit of RF noise in here. QSO made. I was listening to make sure you got enough QSOs as it was a bit early still.
Someone has forgotten to turn the Sun on today it is so dark and gloomy. It’s gone past 1230 so it’s getting dark now. At least it’s not raining yet !
Another splendid Martini activation (ie any time, any place) by you Fraser. You certainly deserve a special seasonal bonus for achieving that after a Christmas night out in the capital. Amazing performance from that wee wire vertical that shouldn’t work, but does! As I write this, my 20m mast in the garden is almost bent double in the gale here…! 
73 Mike
Hi Fraser, it was good to catch you today “from the roof”. We had 2m ready to go as well as 40m but were supposed to be in a meeting at 9.15 downstairs so had to go !
It looks like you got plenty of contacts.
Thank you for the detailed description of your minimal footprint HF setup. Those ideas will be useful if I revisit the narrow promontory on Stac Pollaidh.
Andy
MM7MOX
Andy, I guess you and your friend 2M0OON must have wondered where I’d gone!
As for the mast set up, not ideal strapping it to my leg, however it did the job. Ideally I would have found a crack in the rock to jam it into.
