For Backpackers session 3, I elected to try Tal y Fan GW/NW-040. It wasn’t a great contest site. It could be, with more activity from EI, GI, GD and GM - but there wasn’t. But more of that later.
Of course, we couldn’t consider a run out to Tal y Fan without bagging the easy point from Great Orme GW/NW-070. Well, me anyway. Jimmy M3EYP had already done this one in 2010, on a trip with his mates in which they, rather nobly, walked up Great Orme from Llandudno town centre. This time however, we would be using the summit car park!
I began the day by picking up Jimmy’s mate Craig from Bollington at around 6.40am. I then returned home to pick up Jimmy and Liam, who was having a rare outing with us today. This gave the lads the extra minutes they seem to need to get ready compared to me! We then drove to Lymm Truck Stop for a slap-up cooked breakfast, before hitting the M56 and A55 to Llandudno.
Parking fee just below the summit was £1.10, and we exited the car into fierce westerly winds blowing across the coast. The idea was to get a very quick handheld activation done here, but it was to prove otherwise. Only one QSO each could be generated from such operating conditions, so we had to set up the SOTA Beam. Still QSOs were hard to come by, but eventually I got five and Jimmy got three. He already had his point, so that was not a problem.
As we retreated to the car, the wind was stronger still, and we were being bashed from side to side as we picked out way across the car park. Already, we were nearly one hour behind schedule, and resigned to a late start in the Backpackers contest.
Tom M1EYP