Ah, so that plantation has been removed! Good! The path through it was a little difficult as I remember, though it got better further south and I remember a stretch of walking along rocks and looking down into conifers. There were also signs of trials for minerals, perhaps looking for more zinc prospects. The whole area is fascinating!
Lots to explore in that area! However, for anyone thinking of walking from Stiperstones G/WB-003 to Heath Mynd G/WB-007 please note the route across the River West Onny south of Black Rhadley Hill is blocked by Linley Drive, which is apparently private property.
I had hoped to activate Heath Mynd in 2019 on a long walk from the north until I discovered this (initially from maps and Google Street View). Instead we parked just outside Lydham for a less dramatic but still very pleasant walk to Heath Mynd on minor roads from the south.
73 and HNY to all,
John M0VCM
Yes, part of the Linley Hall estate (Jasper More’s old place). Best to approach from the south as you did John. There is a path/track classed as “other route in public access” that runs south, starting north of Cefn Gunthly, but it’s not possible to access it from that side due to Linley Drive. But it’s wonderful countryside down there and well worth a visit.
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Thanks Dave, I’ll be listening out and trying a bit harder next time!
Father Christmas was kind enough to bring me a little Anytone 778/Retevis RT95 mobile radio (2m/70cm) and already I’m hearing things much more clearly than I was before - through the same rooftop white stick antenna.
I’m planning to try my first activation on WB-006 (Caradoc) as I can walk to it from home via The Lawley (sadly not a SOTA summit) - useful with the current situation… maybe where there is a bit of a break in this cold weather though. I know that i’ll be trying to manage a lot of different things all at the same time (not my forté!) so adding the cold weather on top of that might be a bridge too far!
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I never thought of going on to Heath Mynd - it had no particular significance in those days (Marilyns hadn’t been invented!) and the ridge continuation of the Stiperstones was interupted by the hiatus at Rock Farm, with an awkward descent before Black Rhadley Hill with its mining relics. That seemed a natural stopping point in those days.
Many of our cherished SOTA summits are the culmination of interesting hill groups that cry out to be explored - if you enjoy exploring rather than checking for the quickest way up and off again! It might be fun sometime to list these more attractive extended activation walks, though I guess that those of us that incline to such things are quite capable of finding them from the maps for themselves.
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Some years ago I was dropped on the edge of the open land below Heath Mynd G/WB-007 and re-joined the car (via Hyyssington) at an orienteering car park the other side of Corndon GW/MW-013. Rod M0JLA managed to chase me on both summits before and after his run so it worked out quite well. I had never approached Corndon from the south before and had always thought of it as an isolated peak rather than the end of a rather pleasant walk between smaller summits. Finding some mountain pansies on the top was an added attraction.
I had considered other routes but, like others, was faced with where to cross the Onny. As it was I couldn’t find one of the footpaths I was expecting to use so walked on the road into Hyssington rather than cutting across the fields. I’m sure others will improve on my route but you’ll have to wait a bit before trying them as it includes crossing that insurmountable (at the moment) Welsh border! Let’s dream of, and plan for, better times!
73 Viki M6BWA
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The longer routes tend to be much more enjoyable paths than the “baggers’ routes”. Challenging myself to walk from Shining Tor G/SP-004 to Gun G/SP-013 invoked a superb traverse taking in Three Shires Head and Lud’s Church.
Lockdowns have caused me to seek out local footpaths close to home that I’ve not previously explored, and chaining them together to create satisfying circular walks.
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Good stuff. I’ve often wondered about the little anytime mobiles. One of those and a mag mount would make for a very quickly deployable /M station for my works vehicles. I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with it.