GW/NW-012 Cadair Berwyn

Old Reflector
1

Hi all

I am planning to activate GW/NW-012 Cadair Berwyn in a couple of weeks time. I intend to use the car park indicated on the OS map at SJ076293. Does anyone know if this pay and display, and if so how much? Also, is it barrier controlled, and if so what are the opening hours?

Any info appreciated.

73,

James M0ZZO

2

In reply to M0ZZO:
Yes, Not sure, less than £2 I think and No
Park 100 yards up the road and its free… get there early though for a space

3

In reply to M0ZZO:
According to the route described in Summitsbase the car park is £2 - it was free last time I went there! There is a layby just before the cafe that offers free parking but that can get full quite quickly on a fine day. Its worth taking an extra ten minutes to go to the foot of the waterfall, and there is a good belvedere for photos at the top, too. One of my favourite hills!

73

Brian G8ADD

4

Thanks Guys

I will be there plenty early so £2.00 saved.

73,

James M0ZZO

5

I would park at the cafe, pay the parking fee and enjoy a traditional Welsh breakfast and pot of tea before striding out. It is a lovely walk from there and not at all difficult. I loved the section walking on the right hand side of a glacial valley between the cafe and where you bear left for the steeper pull up to the ridge.

I don’t think the cafe opens until 9am, so you cannot pay the parking charge or buy a breakfast until then, but this walk does not demand an early start anyway.

Tom M1EYP

6

In reply to M1EYP:

Thanks for the advice Tom. Sadly my days of big breakfasts have gone. I really need to lose a fair bit of weight. I have been piling on the pounds due to lack of hill activity over the past couple of years.

I expect to be out for all of the Easter weekend and will probably be pretty done in by the time (Easter Monday) I get to this one. I will probably go for a pre 09:00 start as I also want to activate GW/NW-060 Mynydd-y-briw, for a nice easy finish before I journey back to sunny Essex.

73,

James M0ZZO

7

Hi James,

You will enjoy the route up Cadair Berwyn GW/NW-012.

There is a correction to the English Assoctian Reference Manuel, please could you change the height of Chanctonbury Ring G/SE-009 from 238m to 240m please.

Jimmy M3EYP

8

In reply to M1EYP:
"I don’t think the cafe opens until 9am, so you cannot pay the parking charge"
There is or was an honesty box for early arrivals - £1.50 last time I was there.

9

In reply to M3EYP:

Thanks Jimmy I will try and get that done this week.

73,

James M0ZZO

10

In reply to M0ZZO:

Hi, James.

I can recommend the circular route I have described under the summit info. Anti-clockwise is probably the best way if either the WX is poor first thing or exceptionally hot - as it was last time I did it when the ridge to the east provided shade. In either case you are sheltered on the ascent until well over half way up.

73, Richard

11

Geoff Passey 2E0BTR and I activated this mountain today for SOTA. We parked in the layby not the field and were walking at 1020 BST straight up to the waterfall and up to the ridge. Above the top fence “Ffridd”] we made our way into the clouds and onto Moel Sych [Moel Gwlyb today] before walking along the undulating ridge to the shelter on the false summit and the trig point on the true summit of Cadair Berwyn. Being early we ate lunch/ snap / scran and caught tantalising glimpses of the beautiful hills and valleys through breaks in the cloud. We screwed in a Passey ground screw and post and fastened the SOTAbeam and mast to it, followed by Geoff’s fine dipole set along the fence line. Geoff made 10 or so contacts on 2m ssb. I self-spotted us on FMF spot service and struck up on 80m which was noise free. I had four contacts who got through:- John GW4BVE, John M0JDK, Nick M6NJB in Shepton Mallet, Somerset and David G3RDQ in Stockbridge, Hants. Save for John BVE a few miles away my small signal was being received with difficulty in the towns of England but the four stations were loud and clear on the hill. Geoff said some of his callers were trying to find me but heard nothing [thanks for making the effort]. I set the links for 40m and found a spot at 7.190MHz away from the “59 what is your callsign” world and was preparing the text message when the rain started in earnest. Geoff said it was time to pack up however a happy distraction arrived in the shape of a man from Cynwyd. He was in his woolly jumper and regular trousers carrying a staff and quite philosophical on how wet he was getting now. I chatted with him in Welsh [same dialect as mine], commenting that it was raining old ladies and walking sticks and wasn’t he as wet as a sheep by now?
We returned the way we came in horizontal rain, regretting the early / necessary termination of the activation. Thanks to Geoff for the driving and chat. This mountain is one to repeat next year.
Hwyl fawr
David 2E0DAI

12

In reply to 2E0DAI:

Good to work you on Cadair Berwyn today. The levels of absorption were high and conditions on 80m were very poor.

I am sorry to disappoint you but the true summit of Cadair Berwyn is not the trig. point peak but the south peak near the shelter. The good news is that you were still in the summit activation zone!!!

73 John GW4BVE