SOTA - Slemish - GI/AH-007

Slemish - 437m, 2 points

Association: Northern Ireland  Region: Antrim Hills  
Latitude: 54 52 53 N, Longitude: 6 5 54 W
Grid Reference: D 221053, QTH Locator: IO64WV

A lovely sunny day could not be missed, so my sister took me out to Co. Antrim's most distinctive summit, Slemish. We couldn't have asked for a better day, wall to wall sunshine which brought some pleasnt warmth to the otherwise cold wind. Slemish is an imposing sight when stood at the base, and requires a bit of hands on scrambling to make the ascent. It was fairly quiet with only a handful of other walkers out on the hill.

The contacts came quick and fast and in the end I ended up with 41 QSOs and 18 DXCC.
40 metres was not very productive, but when I got home I found I'd not been spotted there!

Definitely one to do again.

SOTA - Divis Mountain - GI/AH-004

Divis - 478m, 2 points

Association: Northern Ireland  Region: Antrim Hills  
Latitude: 54 36 38 N, Longitude: 6 1 10 W
Grid Reference: J 280754, QTH Locator: IO64XO

A visit to Northern Ireland to visit my family meant the possibility of a couple of GI SOTA activations.
On the 26th April after a wild wet morning the sun played tricks with me and popped it's head out enticing a quick afternoon activation of Divis.
My sister drove me to the car park and we togged up and started off for the summit.
Needless to say the sun decided to disappear and was replaced by cold blustery winds laden with moisture.

It was a wild barren walk to the summit, and once there seemed to have problems with 20 metres. I was convinced this was because of interference from the radio towers a few feet away.

I gave up with 20 and launched myself on 40 metres.
This brought a handful of contacts, but they quickly dried up, unlike us who were now huddling under waterproofs to keep dry.
I called it quits with only 10 QSOs and 5 DXCC, but overall a successful activation and there's always the next time!

 

Belfast Hill's Partnership newsletter article.

The above article featured in the Belfast Hill's Partnership Newsletter some weeks later. The fact that my sister works there may have had some bearing on this!

SOTA - May Hill - G/WB-019

May Hill - 296m, 1 point

Association: England  Region: Welsh Borders  
Latitude: 51 53 18 N, Longitude: 2 26 40 W
Grid Reference: SO 695212, QTH Locator: IO81SV

The 1st of April turned into what can only be described as a fine summer day!
With superb weather I made the trip to May Hill.
There's plenty of parking on the western side of the hill at SO690211.
It's only a short walk to the summit, a round trip of about 2 miles.

Armed with the new key, I certainly put it to use, 103 QSOs and 26 DXCC.
A great day out in the spring sunshine.