Mrs MHF & myself have come up to Orkney to enjoy the scenery & the wonderful archaeological features such as Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar etc.
There are also some one-pointer SOTA peaks, so it would be impolite not to have a bash at one.
The most popular with 24 activations is Wideford Hill GM/SI-189, being close to the capital Kirkwall & is a drive-up summit.
En route from Merseyside to the Orkney ferry at Aberdeen, my heart sank-I had forgotten my 6m mast!
At our holiday let in Kirkwall & looking at ideas on the Reflector for ad hoc masts, I even thought of using my wife’s walking sticks & trekking pole.
However I discovered two brooms with detachable handles & a length of tubular curtain rod. Mr Tesco kindly sold me some Duck Tape & result! A 9 foot long pole was created.
So last Monday 9th June I headed up the steep road, dodged some large potholes & arrived on the wide summit not far from some large radio masts.
My station was set up on the summit plateau & 40 metres brought contacts with Andy GM6ZAK, Ken G0FEX, William GM4VYQ, Declan EI6FR & Dave G 6LKB. Conditions were not good today.
20m was better with contacts in Spain, Austria, Finland, Italy, France & Slovenia.
S2S were made with Gerald F6HBI/P & Mario IN3ENN on the 2nd activation of F/AM-411, Heinrich IW3AGO on I/AA-221 & Alex F/DH2ID/P on FL/VO-139. No contacts at all on 2m.
Because this summit has lovely views over the Orkney islands, 2 minibuses brought tourists to admire the views. What they thought of this eccentric character sitting on a chair shouting “CQ SOTA”, “You’re 5 by 3”, “73” or “QRZ?” I dread to think!
Afterwards I walked to see the Neolithic chambered cairn on the side of the hill. So all in all, a successful activation which gave me a new region, a new unique & a complete. Here’s a few pics. 73 John G0MHF
Well done John, duck tape is wonderful stuff!
That “mast” is a keeper!
Duck tape is the future… I must put some in my SOTA bag John 
Orkney is a lovely Island - I would love to return myself again soon!
Thanks for the report - looks like you had an enjoyable time.
73, Ben
GW4BML
As a ps here’s 2 views from our bedroom window; one of Wideford Hill & one across the park with the bay in the distance.
Incidently, that was my 99th activation-I must think of something special for my hundreth!
Using Duck Tape out of season is a big fine here. I have to get by with duct tape.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
In case anyone didn’t know:
A brand name.
Generic term.
Incorrect!
Quack quack quack quack 
you have too much time on your hands Richard 
At least Ron didnt say Durex which has a different meaning in non-Australian parts and could have taken the topic in a totally different direction
Asking for Frosties for breakfast in VK land would get your day off to a pleasant if unexpected start, although leads to longer walk in to summits and pockets of severe gravity 
Ian
Good excuse for another holiday, to somewhere warm!
Nice idea, Fraser! We are off to Crete later in the year for a week, but it’s a full-on archaeological tour & I doubt if I could escape up a hill!
What I might do is bag a new region eg the Lake District in which I have yet to visit for SOTA. A new region, a new unique & a complete sounds like a plan.
73 John.