Visiting G and OE in May/June 2016

Hi to the folk in the UK and Austria,

My wife and I will be in the UK, from 18 May to 23 May 16. I plan to visit my birthplace Birch Vale near Stockport for the nights of 21 and 22 May 16. I notice Kinder Scout is nearby however there are numerous summit notes discussing park rangers and protected birds. If Kinder Scout is a no go zone, can you please recommend a peak, in the SP region with easy access and within an easy drive of Birch Vale or Hayfield. Shining Tor looks to be a better option?

18 May to 20 May we plan to be in London playing tourists, meaning no chance of a SOTA activation in the south of Engalnd. :wink:

23 May to 26 May 16 we will be in Paris before moving to Austria for 3 weeks from 26 May 16. Zell am Moos, near Salzburg will be our base, I plan to activate 2 or 3 peaks in the OE/SB region. A visit to OE/VB is likely. :smile:

Thanks in advance.

73, Andrew (VK1AD)

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Hi Andrew,

Zell am Moos is a nice place o stay and not too far from my home. If you need recommendations for tours or local maps just let me know. I would enjoy a joint activation if you like.

73 Heinz, OE5EEP

From Zell am Moos, if you have a car, it’s not far to several nice summits in DL/BG - Berchtesgadener Land. There’s also some nice castles and a salt mine that you could build into day trip to keep the rest of the family happy. An activation of Jenner followed by a boat trip on Konigsee would make a very nice day out for you and the family.

If you decide to include this in the time you have let me know and I’ll see if I can drive down and meet you.

73 Ed DD5LP (VK2JI).

If you’re in Stockport for 2 nights, you could feasibly activate all of SP-001,004,013,015 during your stay. I’d be happy to join you too.

Thank you Heinz your offer is appreciated. I will contact you before my wife and I leave VK.
Perhaps we can organise a lunch or dinner to meet up with local OE/SB SOTA activators. While in Austria I also plan to visit Herbert OE9HRV.

73, Andrew VK1AD

Hi Tom

Thanks for the offer, much appreciated.

Wx permitting, my opportunity to activate a SP peak will be restricted to one day either 21 or 22 May. I will contact you via this site or QRZ closer to the date.

I plan to take a FT-817, lightweight 20/40 EFHW and a DX-Wire travel pole plus two S3 LiPo batteries.

73, Andrew VK1AD

Hi Ed

My wife was born in Austria and has family living in Zell am Moos. I won’t spend too much time in the mountains, my wife has other ideas for our holiday in Austria. :wink:

73, Andrew VK1AD

Hi Andrew,

Keep us informed, it would really be nice to meet up with you and activate some mountains together!

Vy 73, Sylvia
OE5YYN

On my activations of G/SP-001 I’ve had no problems (often hidden in the mist though!). From Birch Vale you won’t even have to drive. If you are with non-hams you can send them off in search of aircraft wreckage whilst you play with the radio.

Certainly G/SP-004 has the better VHF take-off and great views over the Cheshire plane, with an easy walk in.

Restricted to one day of activating the SP’s in the Stockport area, you could indeed spend a day on Kinder Scout G/SP-001. A popular alternative is the trio of Shining Tor G/SP-004, Gun G/SP-013 and The Cloud G/SP-015, which can easily be done in a day. Both outings score 4 points, but the latter scores 3 uniques as opposed to one!

Whilst Kinder Scout is a good walk and the plateau is quite something to see, especially if you are from a hot,dry place, I too would got with the trio of SP-004, SP-013 & SP-015.

The Cloud is a 10min ascent, Gun is a 15min (if that) ascent and Shining Tor is under 30mins. You would get the maximum operating time and 3 summits activated. There is also the advantage of a good pub very near the Sp-004 start point. Also there is a fantastic cake shop at the other SP-004 start point. Do Cloud and Gun and get the out of the way then do Shining Tor. Park at the cake shop, ask if it’s OK to park whilst you climb the hill then come back to some spectacular cakes and either tea/coffee. In fact you could have cakes before and after Shining Tor. They were that good when I was there 4 years back!

Oh noes!!!1!1!

Don’t fret unduly about the Cat & Fiddle. The Stanley Arms is just down the road, and is just fine. There are 3/4 good pubs between Gun and Cloud, and you’ve got a multitude of opportunities of fine alehouses in the borough of Macclesfield on the way back up to Stockport.

I’m more worried that the cafe with the amazing cakes may close than the pub. I can get beer anytime but those cakes were special. :wink: