GM/NS-land in May 2025 on VHF/UHF now finished!

[M6BWA]

20 May 2025 GM/NS-143 Beinn Domnhail and GM/NS-144 Creag a Ghorhar

Rod had identified these two as potential ‘swapping summits’ but the road route between them looked rather long for walking. In the very dry conditions, I was tempted by the direct route which crossed the small? river Evelix below Loch an Lagain on a dotted black track which was shown on the 1:50K map but not on the 1:25K. I could find no reference to it on hillbagging or elsewhere. Has anyone tried it (not that I’m going to go back there again)? Hence we decided I would be dropped off by the mast on Loch Buidhe NH659983, on the road from Bonar Bridge at the head of the Dornoch Firth and would be walking while Rod drove to the waterworks where there was just room to park. He was soon to know that road quite well as he then had to drive back to pick me up, return to the waterworks and then back to the mast.

GM/NS-143 Beinn Domnhail 348m

I was left on a very hot day by the very attractive Loch Buidhe, at the start of a forest track NH659983 which went past a mast (I left a bottle of water there) and led up into the forest. Ignoring the right fork, I continued on the rather flat track, until

I reached the extensive logging operations and the base of the proper hill. I had the choice of going on along the flat track and going straight up further along or going left through the logging and aiming to walk along the ridge. I chose the latter and had to clamber over a few trunks and lots of brashings before choosing a stripe up the hillside and hoping the going above the felling would be good. It wasn’t,

I was in deep tussocks and aware that I wasn’t making much progress to the first height on the ridge let alone the summit which was the other side of a steep saddle – with a possible descent route??

A quick look over to the next hill on the list but…

I’d got to plod up this one first.

I eventually crossed the saddle and ascended carefully beside the fence but, on reaching the top I was so determined to get to the right summit that I went to the far end of the ridge – and then went back to the previous summit. The route was long enough (especially with another hill to go) without adding extra distance!

Activating at last but I wanted to ensure I was at the right place

(I don’t think I’ve got quite the right technique) – but it was the right place at last! After about 40 min I’d got 8 2m and 6 (yes 6!) 70cm in the log and was ready to take down and choose a route back. I went back to the saddle and descended an easy slope (no tussocks) but

there was a very wide bog between the base of this hill and the forest road behind the line of trees. I aimed to the right and lost height gently in the hopes of finding a path along the base of the hill but found nothing. Hence I was back to tussock hopping until I reached a wooden hurdle and a definite path diagonally across the bog to my left - thus lengthening the distance to be walked on the forest road but this seemed a better idea than my painfully slow progress round the hill so off I went.

On the road at last and looking back across the bog towards my descent route. Then followed a much longer walk out, my bottle of water and a rather bored Rod who had had a long wait. I recommended my way down as the best route but Rod found it very tedious and came back through the cut timber. We can’t agree on the best route except, perhaps, omit the hill altogether!

GM/NS-144 Creag a Ghorhar 346m

Having been dropped off at the waterworks entrance I walked up the track, went to the left of the compound and turned right at the large gorse bush, as instructed. This started as a reasonable path but soon

faded amongst the heather on the spur so I just walked up slowly as I knew there would be a long wait for the planned s2s. After walking across the fairly flat summit to the top as shown on the map (rather a waste of time as it was all in the AZ)

I set up and

then looked back to the hill I’d just visited with a very similar view to that taken just after I’d crossed the bog. I then noticed the hills on the skyline

and wondered whether I was looking towards Ben Wyvis but the foreground is pretty featureless. All ideas welcomed.
The first contact seemed somewhat surreal and I had to ask for the callsign to be repeated as MM0GHM/RS seemed rather unusual and the explanation even more so. I was talking (59/59) to Graham the guard on the Royal Scotsman train which was a 5 star mobile hotel on a Whisky Tasting Tour currently parked in Tain station – just across the Dornoch Firth so the 70cm contact was just as easy. Half an hour later I’d got my s2s and 7 on 2m, including MM0UDI, Robbie near Turriff (a member of the Aberdeen net) but I still needed a 4th on 70cm so I kept on calling. After 20 mins another 2m appeared but the extra 70cm never arrived. It was still hot (at about 1700 BST) so I sat in the shade of the ‘big gorse bush’ until Rod arrived and we went to Tain for excellent fish and chips eaten in the municipal garden. A long day, it was fortunate that the only hill in the next day’s plan was Hill of Nigg with a very short walk through 2 fields.

[VK3SQ]

…thanks Viki for your interesting activation report; with great photos, well done.

Geoff vk3sq

[M6BWA]

21 May 2025 GM/NS-152 Hill of Nigg

There are two main ways of reaching this hill: By the ferry from Cromarty on the northern tip of the Black Isle (check it is running by emailing the office as the website is not necessarily correct) or by driving up the A9 on the west side of the Cromarty Firth and taking the B9178 signposted to the ferry. A farm road takes you up the hill with parking on the verge by the large gate at the beginning of the track (NH814702). A short walk on the track, through a gate and up a grassy mound

and you can see the car isn’t far away!

It is a flat summit with stupendous views in all directions. VHF was a bit slow to begin with 4 contacts taking 30 mins but things speeded up when I gave the ‘last calls’ and I had 9 2m and 6 70cm when I closed down 20 mins later – including Graham MM0GHM/RS on the train again in Inverness station this time. Unless you are really very tight for time can I strongly suggest you drop down the hill away from the ferry, turn right into the village of Nigg and stop almost immediately at the parking for the old church.

and go inside the church to see

a spectacular stone slab inscribed with Pictish symbols. Also not far away are the Tarbat Discovery Centre at Portmahomack

with further slabs and fragments of Pictish art and, only a short distance further,

Tarbat Ness. Wonder whether it is availabe for LOTA (Lighthouses On The Air)?

22 May 2025 GM/NS-150 Cnoc Mor 269m

Cnoc Mor is at the western end of a small ridge, above Strathpeffer, with Knock Farril, a vitrified fort, at the eastern end. It can be approached by parking in Strathpeffer or, for those who don’t want a steep climb, it is possible to park on the ridge itself by approaching from the south on the A835 from Dingwall/Conon Bridge by turning right to Tollie and Ussie. After glimpsing Loch Ussie turn right then another left and right (no signs anywhere!) you should arrive at the car park on the ridge NH503583.

with super views north

and south over Loch Ussie. The walk along the ridge

passes a modern sculpture and soon plunges into woodland

but the path is signposted

which is useful as the vegetation

is rather dense in places.

On reaching the trig NH490470 I doubted that anyone would actually hear me but I was helped by a couple of s2s: MM7MOX Andy on Hill of Nigg NS-152 and MM0FMF Andy on Struie NS-138 (bit of a struggle!) and MM7MOX was even able to reach me on 70cm – the first 70cm from the summit! Despite the trees, but helped by the steep drop in most directions, I also reached above Loch Ness, Lybster up the coast, Aberlour on Speyside and GM0HBK Colin at Sleat near the southern tip of the Isle of Skye!

[M6BWA]

23 May 2025 GM/NS-148 Cnoc an t-Sabhail, 322m

Our last day before heading south and also the last day of the superb weather according to the forecast. After some discussion, not helped that the 2 hills above Tain had the same name, we chose the northern and slightly lower summit with the approach from the A9 Tain bypass. We parked at the road end NH753813 where the gate had notices welcoming walkers

and warning them of the possible consequences of venturing into the forest (but I’d picked up mine a couple of days earlier). Using forest tracks, some deeply furrowed, and a GPS we gained height in the trees and negotiated the deer fence. When the trees stopped the hill flattened out

it was not immediately obvious where the the trig point was

but we eventually found it

and I was soon using the telescopic RH770 to talk on 2m and 70cm to Peter and Ruth GM5AIB/P and MM7RTC/P on the nearby Hill of Nigg GM/NS-152. Two more 70cm contacts meant that I had qualified the 322m hill on 70cm within 10 minutes using a telescopic antenna (and later got a 5^th contact). The 8 2m contacts included Nairn and Aberlour on Speyside thanks to the sea path. We returned to the car by the same route, with much help from the GPS as we had to find a very narrow path when re-emtering the trees. This was our last summit north of Inverness and it was with reluctance we left this beautiful area (and weather!) and headed south past Aviemore for a short stay near Newtonmore followed by a few days near Loch Lomond. Congratulations to those hardy people who have followed me so far. I have included more detail as many of these summits have only been rarely visited and I hope others will be encouraged that there are so many easy summits (we left quite a few unvisited) after what is is, for most of us, a very long drive to Inverness. Ideal for those who are after more uniques (us!) but don’t mind if the points harvest is very small (or even non-existent if 4 contacts are elusive).

[M6BWA]

Further south:

26 May 2025 GM/CS-095 Creag Ruadh 622m

It was obvious that there would not be any easy hills near Newtonmore – especially if I wanted a chance of a VHF contact. We, once again had the choice of 2 hills with the same name (see GM/CS-092 658m beside the A9, layby 97?) but decided on a new (hill-bagging) northern approach to CS-095 along the A86 north of the River Spey . Turning off at Laggan and crossing just below the Spey Dam

we parked on the grass before Sherrabeg NN570930, walked across the bridge and up the faint path beside the stream to the gate in the deer fence.

The narrow path went through the trees

with a glimpse (probably) of the summit, then through another gate onto the open hillside where it soon disappeared. We followed the edge of the woodland

until another deer fence appeared on our right, going west up the hill. We hoped to find a way through this but knew there was a small area in the AZ outside the fence (not ideal for VHF!!!) if desperate.

As the walk beside the deer fence steepened we crossed the fence carefully and

soon reached the flatter area leading to the trig point. We had been rained on and the wind was fierce at the top

so I hung on tight

and didn’t spend long looking at the view

but set up the dipole on the exposed ridge while M0JLA hunkered down in a more sheltered spot and worked on HF. After spending some time calling unsuccessfully, as expected, on 145.500 I joined him at 1150 for a quick QSO on 14.322 with F4WBN, Christian in France (many thanks), as I did want to at least activate this hill. I trudged back to my cold and uninviting dipole and started calling and calling… AND someone answered! Graham 2M0IJU/M from Erskine was travelling north on the A9 near the Ralia cafe (almost the nearest spot) and by 1206 I had both a 2m and a 70cm contact (the first from this summit – and only the 2^nd on 2m).

The 5w VX7R had done its stuff (but with a dipole attached) and I trudged happily back to the fence, despite the hail shower

and down the hill and out of the trees. This hill has now had 8 activations and 2025 has been the busiest year with 3 people, as Fraser MM0EFI visited in February, after a 12 year gap since the previous SOTA visit.

28 May 2025 We hoped, by parking at the Glenmore Reindeer Centre, to activate GM/ES-027 Meall a’Bhuachaille 810m the next day, which was to be our highest and hardest ascent of the trip.. We had, however, misjudged the weather as an extremely cold wind was blowing along the ridge and I became rather cold on the exposed zigzags up to the summit cairn. After a brief rest (and putting on lots more layers - with still more available in the sac) in a rather crowded shelter it was decided to forego an activation and immediately started the descent to Ryvoan bothy (with shoals of people ascending) and the long way back to the car. Just a few photos to give an idea of the (extremely popular) walk.

[M6BWA]

The very last instalment!

Two days later, 29 May, we moved to Drymen near Loch Lomond and twice sat in the very small car park at Todholes, at the start of the forest road to GM/SS-129 Meikle Bin, and waited for the weather to improve. On the second visit, 30 May, we walked up the long forest track and reached the top of the forest with another 200m of ascent in the open. The wind was strong and a local lady, who had just descended, advised against going up – let alone staying up there for some time. We turned round after an unanimous vote and took time to admire a forestry ‘toy’ which had just been offloaded by a forester. We had been advised to visit the nearby Whangie (a small rock gorge) but, in poor weather, were not convinced it was worth the effort.

On the wet Saturday I was able to walk to the annual Drymen Show with many interesting sights

1 June 2025 GM/-239 Conic Hill 361m

On our last day the only suitable summit seemed to be the ever popular (59 activations) Conic Hill GM/SS-239 from Balmaha Park Visitor Centre on the shores of Loch Lomond. It was obvious that a lot of work had been done to re-open the path after the winter gales but the sheer number of (Sunday!) visitors showed it had to be kept open. It was a stiff walk with many stone steps and uneven surfaces but the many visitors knew where they were going and celebrated loudly when they got there and admired the view. Fortunately the SOTA designated summit ‘361m’ was 2 ‘hillocks’ further on and we were the sole occupants so could activate quietly – or fairly with 15 contacts in 30 mins (6 on 70cm the first from this hill). It is (almost) possible to see the people on the first summit in the picture taken across Loch Lomond! It was a great shame that it was my only chance to speak to many familiar callsigns in the area but the weather was poor and my walking was very limited by then so we were lucky to reach a SOTA summit before heading back to the Welsh Borders. Thank you to all the chasers during our trip and the many people that advised us beforehand and during the visit.

We hope to have a chance to visit GM-land again but we don’t expect to reach NS-land again. It was a great trip.

[G4OIG]

What a brilliant set of reports Viki and some lovely photos. You visited some lovely areas and I recognised a few summits from your photos. I would love to get up to Inverness again in the not too distant future to continue where Paul and myself left off over a decade ago…. and yes, I still have the itineraries we prepared! As you say, challenging on 2m and nigh impossible on 70cm, so welll done on those firsts.

73, Gerald

[MM7MOX]

I have rather enjoyed our May GM s2s’s over the last few years and hope they continue.

Andy

MM7MOX