Back on the exercise tip, whilst I can’t speak from direct experience (not considering myself an ‘older person’ quite yet ) if you want something to do at home you might want to try a yoga class, if you can find one you like. Improving your core strength and flexibility is going to make you better at any kind of sport / exercise. I can’t recommend a particular class, as I don’t practice what I preach!
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Hi Tom. That site of your lock down walks is brilliant. Good suggestion to others to do similar. Great initiative. Well done. 
73 de Geoff
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Keeping fit:-
I have a rucksack with a couple of largish water containers and I just go for a jog around where or carry that when I take the dog out.
You can obviously put as much water in as you want. I think mine weighs about 25lb. I use water in plastic containers because there’s no sharp edges and if you decided you had too much water or too much exercise 
you can dump as much water as you wish. If you want to go the whole hog, then make sure you use your heaviest boots too.
David
I don’t need to fill the rucksack, I have that extra weight ‘built in’ under the tee-shirt
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I started doing this during the first lockdown, to make the most of the one dog walk a day. I carried a backpack full of water bottles and quite soon the 12 kg were hardly noticeable.
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Would anyone care to comment on whether I’d be prohibited from logging activations from local SW Summits?
I moved to Cardiff in December 2020, and can (and have) easily reached the summits of SW-34 and 37 by a combination of bike and walking, both being within a 10 mile radius of my doorstep, and within the Cymru guidelines of exercising from home. To prevent actually stopping and setting up a station at the summit, I’d just operate with a handy talkie. I can’t see how this is against any regulations?
It seems much preferable to my daily walk with thousands of others in the local parks…
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Hi Pete, long time…
The closest / most relevant thing I can find on the Welsh Government lockdown rules is the following paragraph:
“Leaving your home to exercise should not be used as an excuse to undertake other activity which is not permitted. The purpose of leaving home is to exercise. Going for a walk and then having a picnic or spending a prolonged period on a park bench, for example, is not considered to be exercise.”
I guess therefore it could be argued, by you, that what you propose is acceptable. My concern, is that it can be equally argued by a police officer, member of the public or even fellow SOTA participant that it is not. That’s a not dissimilar situation to here, and personally I’ve taken the position that I can’t be bothered having the debate when I can perfectly easily exercise from my home without any risk of accusation that it had any “purpose” beyond that exercise.
Taking a handheld radio out on a walk, I would say, is not an issue. Taking it to a listed SOTA location, with a logbook, with the intention of logging it on the SOTA Database, having announced the plan publicly on the SOTA Reflector in advance, carries the risk of significantly drawing the “purpose” into question.
Those are the very considerations I’ve been weighing up anyway. Hope that helps.
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Thanks Tom.
Yes it’s been a while. Life sometimes throws a spanner in the works!
Thanks for the comments. I’ll probably therefore err on the side of caution and refrain from any radio activity until we get the all clear from TPTB.
In the meantime I’ll just walk the hills I have access to and obey the rules.
I walk most days in Bute Park, Cardiff, where there are literally thousands of people, long queues at all coffee outlets including the two mobile ones, and all the picnic tables are full, some with people with camping stoves, and all manner of picnic paraphernalia!
I was thinking the hill tops would be a little more socially distanced 
73
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They are. I’m on a great 15 mile (estimated - we’ll see come the end of the day) route with Liam. We’re currently enjoying a flask of Cauliflower and Wensleydale soup and homemade Scotch eggs on the ridge summit of Kerridge Hill. The very occasional passing walker, but even on the narrow top, plenty of room for them to give us a 5m wide berth.
Check out my Lockdown walks for some possible inspiration! Just been operating simplex 2m Fusion on HT up here btw.
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I considered activating the 1 local summit within walking distance from me (also with a HT) (although I’m over the border in G rather than GW)
Got told in no uncertain terms by sota admin that it was not allowed (as it would be a leasure activity) and that anyone trying to log such an activation would incur a lifetime ban from SOTA (well from the database and reflector with all points zeroed)
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If you’re referring to this discussion, then your claim above is greatly exaggerated/fabricated.
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You forgot to mention that we would pin your coax, put tacks in your boots and a potato in your cars exhaust pipe so that you can’t get to the hills!
Seriously, though, and without hyperbole, the General Rules make it clear that illegal operations have no place in the database.
When (and if) we are allowed on the GW hills again please check carefully that visits to the mountains in GW are allowed - and particularly to the Brecon Beacons ‘closed’ area. The police are still checking and fined a minibus driver on Saturday 13 February for bringing 10 people from Cheltenham (79 miles) to the area. If he had been a hillwalker and had joined them he might have been luckier as the passengers were apparently not fiined as they were not in the minibus at the time! Do you think he demanded £20 each before letting them into the minibus to cover his ‘expenses’??
Viki
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We are taking the restrictions seriously. In every case that the MT has “spoken to” activators it has been following an AM objection. The AMs are key. If you want guidance on C19 restrictions ask your AM. If you are concerned that somebody else broke C19 restrictions, tell your AM. Then he/she can raise this with the MT.
So far all the G activations noted as probably in breach of C19 regulations included a long stay on summit. All activators complied after it was pointed out this is probably not consistent with the rules.
I have enquired of UK government DCMS in respect of whether or not SOTA counts as sport / exercise. This was quite some time ago. It will be nice if they respond before the lock-down ends!
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Perhaps we need to make stronger representations to the goverment. The Angling Trust has now lobbied the government and the result is that you can now go angling.
I’m sure SOTA is rather more energetic exercise than hooking a maggot on one end of the line.
https://anglingtrust.net/covid-19/
Which government? SOTA is now active in 100 countries.
The Angling Trust no doubt has the ability to have a razor sharp focus on UK governements - and probably employs paid lobbyists. We’re a volunteer team covering an inordinately larger number of jurisdictions.
Well, we can’t do much more than assert that we are the most socially distanced sport there is! It’s when our QSO partner is on the other side of the planet that we are happiest. 
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It’s my Birthday tomorrow, and weather permitting, and if I can locate all my equipment after a year of inactivity, I will attempt to activate GW/SW-034.
Garth Hill is within 5 miles of my doorstep which is classed as a local area.
As from last week we are allowed to travel, stay outdoors for an unlimited time, participate in sports and even have a haircut.
https://gov.wales/coronavirus#:~:text=From%2013%20March&text=People%20will%20be%20permitted%20to,including%20golf%20courses%20can%20reopen.
Apart form the haircut, I think that is well within the spirit of the law. Today there were hundreds having picnics, people out sailing, and all the playing fields in Cardiff are full.
Now all I have to do is find my kit and try and remember what morse code is…
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As from tomorrow, residents of Wales are free to travel anywhere in the country.
After two local activations over the last 2 weeks, next week I’ll be venturing into the lesser visited spots in the Beacons, as the hotspots like GW/SW-001 will be like Piccadilly circus on steroids (ie worse than normal).
Hopefully lots more GW activators will be hitting the summits.
73
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Enjoy! Hopefully we can follow before too long.
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