If you know I just bought the “British History for Dummies” book, maybe you’ll forgive me if this topic looks stupid to you :o).
Here goes:
Browsing through the Philip’s Navigator atlas of Britain (that big one), I came across a couple of hills in southern England that are not mentioned in the G/SE SOTA list.
Gills Lap 204m high TQ43
Tolsford Hill 178m TR13
Bostal Hill 190m TQ40
Wolstonbury Hill 206m TQ21
Newtimber Hill 202m TQ21
Devil’s Dyke (Fulking) 217m TQ21
Truleigh Hill 216m TQ21
On the other hand Cliffe Hill with “only” 164m hight is a valid SOTA.
Any reason why the above mentioned are not valid for SOTA despite the fact that they are higher than the valid one?
In reply to ON3WAB:
Peter look at Gun Hill G/SP-013 (SJ96) It is 385m, but 3km to the East is “The Roaches” at 505m & not SOTA. One reason Gun is not good for VHF contesting hi.
Yes, I think it is Shining Tor G/SP-004 that ‘dominates’ The Roaches, ie there is insufficient drop between The Roaches and Shining Tor for The Roaches to count as a P150 summit in its own right. Gun G/SP-013, on the other hand has sufficiently low lying land all the way around it to count in its own right.
I agree that Gun is not ideal for VHF Steve, but if there’s one man I know who can go up there and still make hundreds of contacts, it’s you! (And indeed, you have done, several times). Now that would be a good challenge for you Steve - enter a VHF contest from Gun G/SP-013. You might not win, but I reckon you would beat a load of people who were on supposedly better VHF locations.
It’s a shame that Gills Lap, and the even higher summit just to the south-east (218m), are dominated by Crowborough Beacon. What a difference between the unpleasant urban environment of the latter to the beautiful open spaces of Ashdown Forest at the former. It’s a useful location for VHF/UHF contesting too, as I have found many times in the past. There are also reports of ravens breeding there, although I haven’t seen any myself yet.
Crowborough wasn’t all that bad. I was expecting worse. Can’t see me going back in a hurry though!
The thing I particularly like about using a prominence definition is the range of hills you get, right down to quite small ones. Look at Cross Slieve GI/AH-011 in County Antrim, and you have to do a double-take on the map to figure out why it is a SOTA summit, and why nothing in the immediate massif behind it is!
Another little gem, I think, is GM/WS-339, just south of Fort William. Jimmy spotted this one while pouring over the OS 1:25000 sheet for Ben Nevis GM/WS-001, ahead of our holiday there in August. Marianne has said we can have a day to do Ben Nevis, but that’s it for SOTA on the holiday! Jimmy now has a cunning plan to show his mum the little summit on the map and persuade her that it would be ideal for an easy short family walk and picnic with great views! It is quite amazing though that such a tiny hill can satisfy P150 so close to the biggest mountain in the UK - but that’s the beauty of a prominence-based definition.
Another little gem, I think, is GM/WS-339, just south of Fort William.
Jimmy spotted this one while pouring over the OS 1:25000 sheet for
Ben Nevis GM/WS-001, ahead of our holiday there in August.
Tom M1EYP
If it’s anything like the time Steve G1INK and I did it in January, be sure to pack your waders;-) The main summit plateau was a continuous bog with the only dry ground immediately around the trig.
For Marianne’s info, there is a lovely picnic area with tables/benches right at the parking spot Tom, a good spot to relax, picnic and take in the views, with a fantastic view over Loch Linnhe, Fort William and if the wx permits, “The Ben”.
Yes, P150 means that the hills must have minimum vertical separation of 150m from other hills.
Suppose you have two hills next to each other. If the lower of the two hills is to count in its own right, then the saddle between the two must be at least 150m lower than the summit of the lower hill.