Over the Easter weekend I will be taking part in the JK orienteering featival & will be stopping in Merthyr Tydfil for a couple of days.
I would like to try some SOTA summits while I am there, looking for suitable suggestions.
Friday 18th - Work first then travelling to Merthyr. Evening activation, so easy descent in the dark.
Saturday 19th - Merthyr Common/Mynydd Llangynidr. An early race time expected, leaving the full afternoon/evening for a more ambitious summit.
Sunday 20th - Mynydd Llangynidr again, but helping so expect not to get off site until late afternoon. An evening activation near here or Merthyr tydfil (after a hot meal).
Monday 21st - Pwll Du (Abergavenny)relay, hope for an early finish leaving the afternoon free for SOTA before travelling home. (possibly GW/SW-012 Coity Mountain).
Friday or Sunday evening has got to be GW/SW-010 Craig y Llyn - a very easy 4 pointer along forest tracks, with only around 180m ascent - easy in dark.
Park large forestry gateway SN 92166 02502 - walk along track, take forest ride on right at SN 91937 02381. Follow track to SN 90761 02989, turn right for trig point. (If VHF activation would be better continuing ahead for further 110m to end of track for better take off).
Do not be tempted to park elsewhere which involves walk along road - dangerous road for pedestrians especially in dark. Neil activated this one for summer solstice when staying at Merthyr Tydfil Travel Lodge - easy peasy on this route (much easier than the National Trail route).
In reply to G1ZAR:
OK from the top down.
Friday -
I’d go for the big one GW/SW-001, Pen Y Fan.
It’s 15 minutes from Merthyr.
It’s less than an hour’s ascent and there’s a path the whole way (more like a motorway) and dead easy to navigate even in the dark with a head torch.
An alternative is Craig y Llyn - GW/SW-010 but a longer drive from Merthyr. It’s a quick walk from the car park along easy track with virtually no ascent. Probably the easiest summit in SW!
Saturday -
Well looks like you’ll be almost on top of Cefn yr Ystrad - GW/SW-008 for the race so it would be silly not to do that one. Depending on where you park you could work in GW/SW-013 (Tor y Foel)or GW/SW-014 (Mynydd Carn y cefn)on the way home.
Sunday -
Probably SW-014 is the quickest. Reasonably easy to navigate in the dark once you’re back on the main track.
Monday
Coity is an obvious one as it is very close but isn’t a big walk. Lots much nicer hills around Abergavenny (not sure where home is!) but Sugar Loaf SW-011 and GW/SW-016 (Ysgyryd Fawr)would be easy to get to also.
You have to do Cefn yr Ystrad, SW-008 while parked at the Trefil quarries; either Saturday or Sunday. It is a long, hard walk from anywhere else. However, it is in the Merthyr Common competition area so after Saturday run or anytime on Sunday. You will probably meet M6BWA and/or M0JLA depending on WX and start times as we have not done it this year.
Craig y Llyn,SW-010 is an easy descent as it gets dark on Friday evening. If on 2mFM go S past the trig to the open area and you have a great takeoff Southwards.
Fan Fawr, SW-005 on the opposite side of the road from Pen y Fan, SW-001 is a steep but fairly short ascent; you might have time to do both PyF will be absolutely jumping on Easter Saturday if the WX is good.
On Monday, Coity Mountain,SW-012 is directly above Big Pit. It is said to be a horrbly wet ascent from that side; we have only done it from the Cwm Tillery side (West) and will not be doing it this time as we went there a few weeks back. If you do drive around you can do Mynydd Carny Cefn, SW-014 too, park in the street near Round Towers for that one.
Thanks for the informed suggestions.
Below is the proposed summits for my extended weekend.
FRIDAY
I shall be travelling over as soon as I finish at work & plan to do either
SW-013 Tor y Foel or SW-014 Mynydd Carn y Cefn in the evening.
SATURDAY
Morning run & then SW-008 Cefn yr Ystrad early afternoon.
It’s then back to the competition area to set up the Sunday start.
After a quick meal I will be of to SW-001 Pen y Fan. If it is still light when I return to the car, I might attempt SW-008 Fan Fawr.
SUNDAY
A full day of running, manning the start & collecting the course controls after means little time for playing. Hopefully I will have time to visit Charterists Cave while in the area.
Possible do SW-013 or SW-014 in the evening (whichever I didn’t do on Friday).
MONDAY
As we are parking close to Big Pit, then it will be SW-012 Coity Mountain when I’ve finished my run.
Travelling back home to the midlands, I thought about G/WB-009 Worcestershire Beacon or G/CE-003 Bredon Hill.
All of the above are probables, but it will depend a lot on how my days pan out. Equipment will be 2M & as my new HF aerial has arrived from Sotabeams, I want to give 40 or 80 a go as well.
Thanks for all the advice.
Both running & activating took longer than expected, plus the bad weather & missing competitors ruled out any activation on Sunday.
But I did manage
Friday : GW/SW-013 Tor y Foel
Saturday : GW/SW-008 Cefn yr Ystrad after meeting Viki MW6BWA during my run. then on to GW/SW-001 Pen y Fan for a glorious sunset.
Sunday afternoon up GW/SW-012 Coity Mountain. didn’t find it to wet going up from the Big Pit car park.
An enjoyable weekend with the radio (don’t ask about the orienteering).
