I’ve activated Normanby Top G/TW-005 many times over the years - but never found a pleasant and comfortable spot to operate from! The AZ is huge on this plateau summit but viable options are surprisingly limited.
I have, with farmer permission, operated from the true summit by the trig point but there’s not much view or take-off from there - and a lot of livestock droppings to avoid! Plus you can’t rely on always bumping into the farmer!
I’ve operated beside public footpaths on either side of the hill that run into the AZ - one uncomfortably close to overhead power lines, and the other behind a smelly old cowshed. And again, no view or take-off. I’ve operated from grass verges beside roads in the AZ and on some concrete hard standing in a compound adjacent to the radar station - all rather uninspiring!
Yesterday I had a morning to kill between gigs over that way. I decided to investigate where the public footpath veers inside the edge of the AZ at TF 12098 95187, around 1.3km due south of the true summit. This is near to Normanby-le-Wold but within the parish of Claxby.
What I found was a pleasant grassy bank with a view and take-off to the south east.
Easy legitimate access via PROW, nice and quiet with no passing cars (and just two walkers in 2.5 hours).
20m CW/SSB - 58 QSOs - 23 S2S.
This activating spot is just within the AZ at 144m ASL - a tantalising 24m below the summit! But it is, by some distance, the best operating spot for this summit that I have experienced.
How it’s taken me so long to find a suitable activating spot I don’t know. I have a dejavu feeling that someone else may have already recommended this very position!
I then drove down to Stamford for an Elvis tribute gig. Coincidentally on the same day that Macclesfield knocked Stamford out of the FA Cup!
