G4YSS:G/TW-003 Guisbro' Moor on 2m-FM with Finn

G4YSS · 17 May 2026 17:14

G4YSS: G/TW-003 GUISBOROUGH MOOR on 2m-FM, 10-05-26
Issue-1 pse rprt errors

Activation of GUISBOROUGH MOOR G/TW-003-1pt using 2m-FM QRO on Sunday afternoon, 10th May 2026. All times: BST (UTC plus 1hr, UOS as ‘z’)

EQUIPMENT:
FT1500 2m-FM 50W mobile transceiver
4m/ 3-section Ali-CFC mast
J-Pole for 2m-FM
HRB 11.1V/ 5 Ah Li-Po (No8) battery (discharged to 11V)
HRB 11.1V/ 5 Ah Li-Po (No7) spare (not required)
Sotabeam 3-ele & guying kit (not req’d)
VX150 2m-FM, 5W H/H (not used)
UV-3R H/H. 2-Band, 2W-FM in top pocket (not used)
Garmin GEKO-301 GPS (forgotten)
Camera (forgotten)
Pack weight: 10.1kg (22.3 pounds) inc Primaloft jacket, dog coat & 1ltr Water (non used)

INTRODUCTION:
A summit that is close to home, TW3 Guisborough Moor has been ignored by me since SOTA started 24 years ago. Why? Overlooked simply because it was a little 'un, a humble one-pointer but that approach has recently changed. Post Achilles, I now look out for something easier and less steep. More than that, TW3 is only a one hour drive from my house in Scarborough. Because it’s of that and provided I don’t go for a multi-band effort, my thinking was that this should fit nicely into half a day with little disruption of meal times. How very civilised!.

Like NP6 Gt. Shunner Fell in April, this was all part of making the most of Finn while I still have him here. I could see his excitement building while I ran around the house at short notice, to gather all the kit we’d need. I went to the trouble of devising a route recommended by G3TQQ Dave at the SARS club a few years ago and loading it into the GPS. Then I omitted to attach the GPS to the rucksack. I also forgot my camera. No matter, the phone covered both functions but it doesn’t provide a track.

Route:
The start point is a grass verge 2km west of Commondale at NZ 6474 0984 (230m ASL). A track leaves the road going initially NE then NW via NZ 6476 1003 and passes the 282m high point to NZ 6452 1040. It curves right at NZ 6366 1121 and left at NZ 6336 1231. This track takes you almost all the way from the road to the summit cairn which is at NZ 6318 1241 except you have to leave it at its nearest approach and walk about 30m SW. The 329m ASL SOTA summit consists of a low pile of large rocks surrounded by heather.

If your plan is to include an activation of the trig point, this place is at the wrong end of the hill but if you were to go to the trig you could activate both. There are attractive views in all directions, particularly NE over Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Unlike the blackened HEMA Stony Leas HTW-009, which I activated the week before, there was no fire damage on TW3.

EXECUTION:
Setting off at 13:45, arriving by 14:48, the walk started at 15:01. It’s a pleasant walk on a good track. Not that I was going to try it but just to give an idea of the quality, the surface and gradients were such that my old Ford Fiesta could have handled it comfortably and without losing the exhaust (ah the memories)!

I took a walking stick but it wasn’t needed and ended up on the rucksack for the return. It’s quite a long way and despite some stopping to sniff by Finn and brief stops to record the nav and take photos, we made quite good time.

There was sufficient depth of soil (peat) between the summit rocks to hold up a short mast with a vertical on top.

GUISBOROUGH MOOR G/TW-003, 329m, 1pt. 15:47 to 17:40. 13C, 2 mph wind, mostly sunny. WAB: NZ61, LOC: IO94LM (Trig TP3534 is in the AZ but out of range). Phone coverage (EE)

145.400 FM – 9 QSO’s as follows:

G7SXR Mark in Drighlington asked me if I had SSB with me but my FT1500 is just FM.

M7PXY Steve using a Trio TR9130 and ‘silver rod’ from Shildon, Co Durham at 162m ASL .

G6VVM Andy using a folded dipole installed in his garage at Harrogate IO94FA.

G0PON Gary in Darlington with a 3x 5/8 Diamond X510, 50 feet up. Great signal.

G0PWZ Peter wheelchair bound in his Darlington bungalow using an FT710 & X510 at 15 ft.

G4VUN Peter at Thirn. 16W to a 12mm copper pipe half-wave vert dipole inside the apex.

M6PQD Paul on his FY400XD and 6-2-70 vertical at 26 feet, at Easington Colliery.

G8HCK Andy in Malton having his second QSO after coming back from a 15 year break.

G1JSF John in Stainton, M’Bro in IO94IM. G1? Passed his Morse test but lost the proof.

Power was 25W except the final QSO whence the FT1500 was set down at 10W. Reports were 57 to 59 for everything apart from a 55 coming from the indoor aerial in Harrogate. Where was G0PMJ? Dave was at his daughter’s helping with the gardening so we missed one another for now. No worries, I worked him briefly from Blakey Ridge on the drive home along with another Darlington station - M6AAJ Tony.

The Descent:
It didn’t take long to pack up such a small station but there was no rush on such a lovely day. The walk down, with a stop to talk to a lady heading for the summit on horseback, took from 17:40 to 18:20.

COMMENTS:
With the GPS forgotten and the camera too, I had to make do with the phone for photos and screenshots of grid positions. No track to save either. When this has been the norm for so many years, it all feels so alien. This summit was near to home but after activating it for the first time and seeing how nice it is, I wish it was even nearer – say 20 minutes drive instead of an hour. It was a good day to be introduced to a new summit and be left with a great impression. I think the dog liked it too. Several times we were both startled by Red Grouse but there were other birds of interest too, namely Lapwing and (I think) Curlew? There are little concrete water receptacles for the Grouse at intervals along the track side. There were feeder trays at the summit and elsewhere.

Come to think of it, I have been across Gisborough Moor before but just once on 27th October 1978 at dead of night on Captain Cook’s Memorial Walk. 45 miles Marton to Whitby in a brand new pair boots and shredded feet to celebrate the famous seafarer’s 200th Anniversary.

Just 2m-FM with a bit of power was enough for me in the end but the band was initially dead and I thought I might fail. With no HF I had to make it work and sure enough with a spot and a few CQ’s it did. Darlington supplied two contacts and there would have been a third had Dave G0PMJ not been on a gardening detail. He did get to know via the ‘Darlington network’ while he was away but was powerless to act as there’s no equipment at his daughter’s place. As stated, I did work him on the drive home. It was an easy activation; nice chats with all who called and (or but if you like them) never a pile-up.

There was a cold breeze which was really noticeable when a cloud came over but both of us managed without the coats we’d brought up. Neither did we need any water.

For a long time I wondered why TW3 was so familiar. Of course, ‘That Was the Week That Was.’ Now I know.

I took note that HF could be done (and has been many times of course) except the wire might snag a bit on deep heather and it’s it’s also where the snakes live. For the latter reason I kept Finn on the lead. If I’ve seen one Adder in this area of moorland and coastal cliffs over the years I’ve seen at least a dozen.

ASCENT & DISTANCE:
Ascent 103m (338ft) / Distance 2 x 3.5km (4.4 miles in total)
Start point at 230m ASL with very little re-ascent.

Driving:
Scarborough to Commondale: 38 miles via A170; Hutton-le-Hole; Castleton in 1hr each way.

Walking times:
Ascent: 46 min
Descent: 40 min
Summit time: 1hr-53 min

QSO’s:
9 on 2m-FM
SOTA Points: 1

THANKS:
To ALL STATIONS worked and the SOTA spotting service. Thanks to Dave G3TQQ for letting me know about this one and adding that it was easy.
73, John G4YSS/P

Photos: 182010; 150718; 151245; 151308; 152535; 153414; 154408; 154416; 154801; 170257; 170333; 174718