We M6BWA and M0JLA) aim to be in Scotland from 4 -23 May, after a couple of nights near Carlisle on the way up. This time, sadly, we shall not be venturing north of Inverness nor enjoying Aberdeenshire sunshine and hospitality but we are still searching for new uniques. They mustn’t be too strenuous but, ideally, will give me some chance of finding some contacts on 2m and 70cm fm (my trusty Yaesu VX-7 does not stretch to SSB).
After trying to pick up a hill (possibly Bengray GM/SS-238) on the way between Dumfries and Girvan. We shall be staying south of Girvan from 4 - 9 May and trying the local ,mainly rather small ,hills near the coast SS-201, 256, 260, 267, etc) Any chance of any NI contacts, anybody??
Then we head north for 3 nights 9-12 May. south of Loch Lomond to try for a couple of hills we missed last time. Then we head east to join our walking group 12-19 May near Blair Atholl (north of Pitlochry) in a rather splendid looking lodge with a billiard room but , sadly, no turrets. We hope to visit a few hills including Deuchary Hill (GM/CS-108) and Drumcroy Hill (GM/CS-108) which has already defeated us once (I don’t clamber over deer fences, thank you), I also have my eye on Ben Vrackie but, as always, the weather will be the main influence (especially after being hailed off GW/MW-026 Long Mountain Beacon Ring 2 days ago when still walking up the mast road!)
We then start heading south and stay near Hawick 19-23 May for a bit of a rest and a chance to tick off Andrewhinney Hill and Law Kneiss (GM/SS-083, 168) at long last. A great shame that the Tushielaw Inn will not be on the list this time. After this ‘rest’ we head south on 23 May and hope to reach Hereford on 24 May (edit!) and face all the gardening, and other, jobs that will be awaiting us ..
We will be very grateful to anyone who wishes to offer advice on any of the summits that are on our list and, even more, who will listen out for our calls. Usually it is only me on 5w VHF/UHF who is struggling but it currently seems that Rod with his QMX, is only getting a couple of contacts on HF from most Welsh hills at present and is desperately hoping that conditions will have improved in the next 3 + weeks.
Andrewhinney Hill GM/SS-083 is a lovely walk, however the same cannot be said for Law Kneis GM/SS-168 which is absolutely horrible, my dad Tom @M1EYP will fully agree with me on this.
Thanks for the tip about taking food. If we have a diesel problem then it will probably take us that long as we’ll be carrying everything - or if the A49 south of Shrewsbury is even slower than usual! I’m now wishing I’d chosen a fortnight earlier as the forecast for Girvan, at least, is bright sunshine this week and it looks as if Denis MM0CBC/P has timed it right. fingers crossed for the weather - and the long trek back.
We (M3ZCB and M1MAJ) are also heading up to Scotland in May, though I fear we may not be within VHF/UHF S2S range with you very often. We’re heading up to near Dumfries on 6th May, moving up to Alford in Aberdeenshire on 9th May for a week. We move back south to Newcastleton in the borders on the 16th, before heading back to the flatlands on 20th.
We had hoped to do some at least moderate sized hill in Aberdeenshire, but my left knee is still being troublesome, which may confine us to smaller hills. The return to the borders includes popping over the English border, as I need Peel Fell to have the same number of uniques as Martyn, and there’s also Sighty Crag which may also be beyond the capabilities of my knee.
We’ve just finished the third week of our spring GM tour. Only managed 10 activations thus far but the weather hasn’t been kind. We’re currently overnighting just south of Ayr, which we’re heading to tomorrow to restock provisions, fuel, LPG etc and to do some laundry, before we head over to Arran on Thursday. Were there until 6th May for a mixture of hills, dog walks and the Arran Rock and Blues Festival .
Let us hope that the weather and band conditions are good for those weeks. We did most of the easier hills to the near west of M74 when we stayed near Thornhill a few years back so Viki will be hoping for a few s2s while you are in that area. The Glentrool hills might be a bit in the way.
We passed through Alford several times while in the area and I went to the Motor Museum. The out-of-town garage on the east side was the cheapest fuel we found anywhere.
Bad news with the knee - hope it improves. I have trouble with both knees so long descents are a problem and we now are restricted to smaller ascents so the height of the parking place has become more of a consideration.
I quite enjoyed Sighty Crag but it was very hard going and I had to go back and pull Viki out of a hole on the way back. And we were younger and a lot fitter then : Take care!
Hope the weather has improved for you by now, Denis and is better than we had for most of our visit. Dry around here but very cold in the wind. Some s2s should be possible during our first couple of days at Ballantrae. I have noticed you working your way through our target hills on the west coast with little chasing success as you will know.
.
Take care!