It was a lovely evening tonight making some antennas at my friend Nigel’s house.
I’d like to take the credit but it is, of course, a complete fluke. However, I also love that we are going to have many more options for the weekend.
I’ll try and be at the Elleray from 6:30pm. It will be a case of ordering food at the bar, so feel free to adjust to a time that suits you when it comes to food.
Regards, Mark.
I suspect we’ll be there earlier, rather than later. Cheers!
I’ll be up on the hills but unfortunately will not be at the pub on Saturday night 
Early start in G/LD-001, then over to G/LD-005 Great Gable and G/LD-014 Kirk Fell for middle of the day. Will try both 2m FM and SSB for some S2S fun. Also HF.
If weather (and legs!) willing, I may try and squeeze in G/LD-006 Pillar … but base camp beers may be calling loudly by that stage.
Same.
I’ve alerted for 2m FM and 10m SSB but will have other bands and modes to try if there’s enough time.
If anyone is coming to the Elleray I’m sat in the beer garden will be here for a while!
Just arrived in Windermere. I need a shower and will be at the pub before 7
I can only make Sunday. I’ve alerted for Red Screes G/LD-017 12:00z.
Hope to speak s2s with some of you.
Sorry Mark. Arrived late in Windermere due to delays on M6…see you tomorrow👍
73 Allan
The full English is on its way. The sun is shining. A typical start to the LD SOTA weekend 
. Looking forward to speaking to you all and then comparing notes about rainy activation we have endured in the past over a few pints tonight.
I suggest folks who are coming to the Elleray this evening get their food ordered when they arrived - I couldn’t book a table big enough, and as folk will be turning up at different times anyway it’s best that you get your order in.
Last night there was a bit of a delay on food after about 7:30pm, not sure what it will be like this evening.
Mark.
We’re outside in the beer garden at the moment, quite nice but bring a warm top if you want to sit out
But trousers are optional?
Well they have cushions for the wooden benches (but only 1 per 2 seats, so you’ll have to share)
Thanks are due to Mark @M0NOM once again for organising the venue for the LD SOTA social. I opted for a pizza and it was very nice. The staff were all pleasant behind the bar and there was plenty of free after 6pm on-street parking around Windermere within short walk distance from the pub.
Also thanks to Mark for organising the perfect weather, hardly any wind and a few clouds to keep down the heat. Literally perfect weather for walking in a tee shirt.
I started my LD weekend on Friday with a trip on the train to Arnside. I live about two minutes walk from Bentham train station and I can catch a train to Carnforth from there. From Carnforth it’s possible to catch a train to Arnside. The Bentham to Arnside return ticket cost me £10.65. The walk up Arnside Knott G/LD-058 isn’t too far from Arnside station, maybe around half an hour.
I’d just started sending out CQs with my MTR-2B when a guy appeared wearing a SOTA cap, it turned out to be Tim @G4YBU who had set up his station at the other side of the hill! I really struggled for QSOs and Tim offered me use of his station, thankfully I did eventually make enough QSOs to qualify. I wasn’t sure whether my lack of QSOs was due poor propagation or my home brew EFHW.
On Saturday I drove to Dunmail Raise and first headed up Seat Sandal G/LD-022. I took completely different gear from the gear I’d taken up Arnside and still I found QSOs hard to come by. I concluded that propagation is just broken at the moment. Still, I managed to qualify the summit and made a couple of QSOs with my £7.49 Baofeng handheld on 2m too.
I walked off Seat Sandal and headed down past Grisedale tarn skirting Cofa Pike before climbing up to the ridge along towards St Sunday Crag G/LD-010. I enjoy walking across Cofa Pike but it wasn’t in my route this time.
On St Sunday Crag 17m CW brought in quite a few contacts but 15m seemed not to be working. I fired up the Baofeng to work G1FVA/P on neighbouring Helvellyn G/LD-003 and somehow ended up being coaxed on to a different frequency to offer up some S2S to other callers (you know who you are @M0NOM 
)
I walked back to my car by descending back to Grisedale Tarn and skirting Seat Sandal and then down Raise Beck to Dunmail Raise. The walk was very enjoyable, a nice day out in the hills. As I was nearing Dunmail Raise I let a man past on the narrow path who said thanks in a foreign sounding accent. I saw a double decker bus go past on the road just after. The man had stopped and was looking at his phone when I caught up with him again. The man noted that he’d missed a bus and asked me where the bus stop was, I had noticed the bus stop as I had set off in the morning, so I told him where it was. It turn out that the man was Canadian and was combining visiting relatives with a walking holiday. Not one to usually pick up hitchhikers, I felt I could trust this guy, so I asked him where he was hoping to get to and he answered Ambleside. I was planning to go to Ambleside to grab a coffee, so I offered the fellow a lift, which was accepted gratefully.
I managed to grab a coffee in Ambleside and also did a bit of window shopping in the gear shops. My lads gave me a £20 Alpkit voucher for father’s day so I went to have a look what I might spend it on. There’s lots of expensive stuff that I’d like to buy but I’ll procrastinate a bit longer!
Pleased to have added 15 activation points to my tally in my quest for double goat and it was a really enjoyable evening at the pub too!
73, Colin
A Note to myself, “don’t go chasing when its a Summit to Summit Event” 
apart from that, I did not have much luck on Saturday, I parked just up from the Jubilee tower, close to Quernmore, with a nice convenient gate post. setup the wire attached to the fishing pole and erected the 4 element beam, all ready to go from the comfort of our car, Elaine was ready with a pen and pad.
Called a station calling in NW Land and SWR on the meter was maximum highest reading. typical of my luck, possibly feeder as I had checked the beam at home the week before, within minutes I had only one option chase 2m fm and any ssb, with mobile vertical whip (Not Tall enough).
gave up on HF as too disappointed , I struggled with the mobile mag whip.
Total of 6 in the log only 2 in the Log from the LD Direction 3 from NW Land and 1 from my favourite SP Summit G/SP-007 .
set off for a pub lunch in Lancaster and we still stayed over in the Travelodge
Well done to the activators, and hope you all did well
Tony & Elaine
I could only make the Sunday. So I decided on a quick nip up the M6 from North Wales, picking G/LD-017 Red Screes as an easily accessible hill with a short ascent.
It was a very pleasant activation in the sunshine and cool breeze. Lots of interest from passing walkers.
When I returned to the car park I met Allan @GW4VPX and his son, who had been across the other side of the pass on Stoney Cove Pike and who had provided my first S2S of the day!
I operated on VHF and HF.
2m FM on FT-270 handheld, Slim G - 4m AGL. 12 QSO, including 2 S2S.
40m/20m SSB on KX2, EFHW on Carbon 6 pole, inverted V. 18 QSO, including 2 S2S
Thanks for the s2s Gerald and the meet up with you and Sue later on. Cracking day👍
