Brecon Beacons (almost) closed

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. :grinning:

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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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