Im planning a QRP dxpedition this weekend, just me and my motorcycle to Orkney. Going to visit the family and while I’m up there I plan to Activate some summits on HF too.
I know I’m going to activate GM/SI-178 - Blotchnie Fiold on Rousay and am debating a rushed activation of a few summits on Hoy or alternatively the more laid back activation of one summit on Westray:
GM/SI-076 Ward Hill Hoy
GM/SI-097 Cuilags Hoy
GM/SI-110 Knap of Trowieglen Hoy
or
GM/SI-217 Fitty Hill Westray
I will squeeze in mainland activations as I can through the few days I have up there.
Your thoughts, input, experience, advice, etc always appreciated.
lol, its usually good advice. Managed a cable car trip the other day (Llandudno) without freaking out, had to keep strong so not to scare my toddler. hahahaha.
Specifically advice about the Orkney SOTA summits would be more helpful, for the time being I can managed the vertigo. ;o)
The Hoy summits and Fitty Hill are two very different beasts… Fitty Hill is an easy 20 minute amble up from the road (car parking difficult but unless your bike is an Electraglide* you’ll get it on the verge easily enough near HY442449 - walk straight up past Heatherbank). The Hoy summits are HARD WORK. Cuilags and Ward Hill from the carpark at HY222034 make a very nice but demanding round. The ascent of Cuilags is particularly steep, and the heather is growing facing down the slope and it claws at your legs as you fight your way up… the traverse to Ward Hill is also fairly challenging.
Knap of Trowieglen takes it’s toll too… the lower section is across ground that gives Galloway a run for it’s money, though as you get higher conditions ease and the shelter at the top is verging on palatial
Whatever you decide, I hope you have as good a time as Gerald and I did. Any specific queries just ask.
Denis - I fully agree with what Paul says. In my opinion there is no way you can rush the Hoy summits. Probably best left for a specific outing when you are fully prepared. Fitty Hill on the other hand is a delight and is easily achieved. I would leave your bike behind and take the bus then you will get to meet some of the very friendly locals! Whatever you decide, have an enjoyable time up there.
Many thanks for the H2S (or S2H from your perspective) last Sunday.
thanks both, I’m planning a long day at either two or three of the Hoy summits if thats the option I take, still happy to take the Westray summit instead. I lived on Rousay for 16 years and never managed to get up to Westray so I’m sure I will enjoy that as much as Hoy, I did however get to stay on Hoy for a week with a school outing, I believe we summited during the holiday but I can’t remember which summit.
I don’t mind a good challenge or a good walk. Severity isn’t a issue too, just did 9k across Snowdon and 2 other connecting summits, that warmed the ankles a bit. Hoy should seem easy in comparison. The big issue is the time difference between first boat on the island and one of the latter boats off the island. I fully appreciate the lack of tracks and paths, plenty of fun in Shetland last year and living on Rousay has me well prepped for the drag effect of heather and bog… and of course the Skua attacks.
I plan to stay on on the mainland, not far from the first barrier (headed south, the most northerly one) so the commute about should be easy enough, or Kirkwall as i have quite a bit of family offering me some floorspace.
Im riding a GS so I’m able to follow tracks to their limit, where legal of course, big nobblies! Usually peat hills allow good access much of the way and keeps the bulls at bay.
Using the bike to gain access is one way of going about the summits. We often joke about carrying a two seater quad bike on a trailer behind the car.
If you manage all three Hoy summits on foot the way we did them inside one day, you can go to the top of the class and join stalwarts like John G4YSS. Certainly the traverse between Cuilags and Ward Hill is not to be under-estimated. You think you are on a track, then you find you aren’t. We were constantly making adjustments looking for the best route, so beware of that part of the trip.
Radio-wise, you’ll most likely need HF - expect to be popular! There is very little VHF activity up there, but you might be able to get some contacts from the locals by directly advising them of your intentions.
BTW, you might like to log into the Summitsbase website and read the report on our trip in the June 2012 News (under Monthly News Archive). There are probably a few more photos on my Flickr account under my callsign.
As for Bonxies, well we were there late April / early May and they didn’t bother us - probably a bit before they had young. Having a pole sticking out of the rucksacks may also have helped deter them.
Looks like you have set a challenge to me Gerald! Ill be honest and say I’m most likely to make the decision a hour or two before boarding either ferry so won’t confirm which I’m going for but I will be activating and posting where I can get a signal, usually SOTAWatch and Twitter @techmenace
Anyway, to clarify my SOTA schedule looks so far like…
Fri 15th - island hopping and summits (Hoy / Westray)
Sat 16th - Mainland activation
Sun 17th - Mainland activation
Mon 18th - Rousay activation - GM/SI-178 - Blotchnie Fiold
Tues 19th - island hopping and summits (Hoy / Westray) or mainland activation
Im debating as well, instead of taking a rest on my way up, if I could instead do a quick activation or two, mic in one hand, tea and sandwiches in the other. It would mean a further activation on Thursday 14th and/or Wednesday the 20th.
I wonder if anybody can advise of any summits where access is easy with a vehicle 90% of the way up (like Black Hill near Bolton), so I can fit in a time constrained activation. My route will be something like… http://goo.gl/2nqOPs … I’m thinking transmitter mast style summits with roads anywhere not far off the linked route.
It’s relatively straightforward and IIRC a lot of felling has taken place recently. There is loads of parking space if you turn off onto the B9154, got throy Moy and park at the forest tracks. Again you should be able to get through the forest rides without too much grief.
Just across the A9 there’s a track right to the top of GM/CS-096 from Lynebeg at NH765339 but not sure about the legality of riding up it or indeed how far you’d get…
Or Ord Ban GM/ES-074 is a short trot from the carpark at NH896084.
73 de Paul G4MD… hoping to catch you on Orkney - any of them will be new completes for me
When you say ride do you mean pushbike or motorbike?
I’m happy to be corrected here but using a motorbike on private ground/tracks in Scotland without the express permission of the landowner is an offense.
if its private road yes, if its a gated public road then no, if its access tracks to peat hills no, if its a farm track through a field yes. Its a massive grey area. So far I have never had issues, but I do my homework first.
I usually check my GPS to be sure, they have legal routes loaded in, and are usually correct to the PROW map in the local councils.
Pushbikes are just as bad as motorcycles, there are places you can and can’t, and they are of course totally different places for each, the media hype keeps motorcycles in minds of those who care enough to complain.
I guess I should give a example, the route up a summit near Aberdeen I completed last year was what used to be called BOAT or RUPP and are now “restricted byway”. This is a new meaningless term designed to confuse the public into not questioning it. The warden was up there when we were up and didn’t bat a eyelid, common access despite trails and massive potholes, mud and gravel in the vast majority, this is normal for many of the summits with antenna masts and other reasons why you might want to drive to the top like reservoirs etc.
I have no idea where I would stand with the ones I questioned, usually wind farms are private but you never know if they are formed on pre existing RBs. If there is a open gate I should imagine the public regularly would let themselves up and before long this gets classified as a road.
I understand the problems and I’m normally of the belief grey areas are much better than a definitive ruling as a definitive ruling may go against what you want. Whereas if it’s all grey…
Ill be honest and say I’m most likely to make the decision a hour or two before boarding either ferry so won’t confirm which I’m going for but I will be activating and posting where I can get a signal, usually SOTAWatch and Twitter