Kinder Scout Hike - G/SP-001 SOTA (2020)
Summits on the Air Activation Report
Activation Date: Sunday 1st March, 2020.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Kinder Scout, Southern Pennines, England.
Summit ID: SOTA reference G/SP-001 (4+3 points).
Summit Height: 636m elevation, 497m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 53.38481, -1.87391. Maidenhead Grid IO93bj.
Distance: 7.7km travelled with 460m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.(?)
Elapsed Time: 2hr 10m (including operating).
Weather: Feels like -2.2°C, 31 kph WSW wind, 78% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 10 (2m FM).
Trip Notes
Kinder Scout, located in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England, is a moorland plateau and a designated national nature reserve. This expansive area includes the highest point in the Peak District, Derbyshire, and the East Midlands, standing at 636 metres above sea level. Referred to as “the Peak,” this summit offers spectacular views of Manchester, the Greater Manchester area, Winter Hill near Bolton, and even the Snowdonia mountains in North Wales in optimal weather conditions. To the north, across the Snake Pass, are the similarly elevated high moors of Bleaklow and Black Hill.
I made a day trip to the Peak District to bag the SOTA hills of Kinder Scout G/SP-001, Shining Tor G/SP-004, Gun G/SP-013 and The Cloud G/SP-015. During the winter bonus season this set of hills yields 14 SOTA points in a single day out.
The expansive summit plateau means the SOTA activation zone for this hill is very large. This means that G/SP-001 can be completed from various directions. A popular route which I undertook here is to park outside the village of Hayfield, near the Kinder Reservoir and head east up to the subsidiary peak of Kinder Low (633m).
There is a medium sized pay and display car park at the end of the lane leading to the reservoir. There is space for many cars to park along the roadside leading up to the car park. This is a popular spot for walkers and tourists and as such an early arrival is recommended in peak season.
I followed the road east towards Clough Farm, then ascending the bridleway towards Kinderlow End. This steep but short-lived climb heads towards a cairn at 603 metres. I then followed the path a short distance up to Kinder Low.
Radio operators can be assured of an easy activation as this is the highest mountain in the area. Success is all but guaranteed with a 5-watt handheld radio. I logged ten contacts in ten minutes before retracing my steps back towards the car.
This is the most direct route to the summit AZ, but for hikers and activators looking for a more significant day hike, Kinder Scout offers a variety of interesting routes. A popular route is to extend this route in to a circuit using the Pennine Way towards Kinder Downfall and then returning via White Brow. There are also several interesting scrambling routes in the area, such as Red Brook (Grade 1) as documented in Scrambles in the Dark Peak by Terry Sleaford.
Photos
Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Kinder Scout on Sunday 1st March, 2020.
Walking Route for Kinder Scout
The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Kinder Scout. The G/SP-001 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.
You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Station Log
I logged the following 10 amateur radio contacts operating as M1HAX/P from G/SP-001 Kinder Scout on Sunday 1st March, 2020 (all times shown are UTC):
| Time | Callsign | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:24 | 2E0XLG/M | 2m | FM | Chris, 5/9 |
| 10:25 | 2E0LKC | 2m | FM | Peter, 5/9 |
| 10:26 | 2E0LMD | 2m | FM | Anne, 5/9 |
| 10:27 | MW0ISC | 2m | FM | Steve, 5/7 |
| 10:28 | M7ECT | 2m | FM | Ethan, 5/9 |
| 10:30 | M0ZMF | 2m | FM | Martin, 5/7 |
| 10:31 | M0OAU | 2m | FM | Lee, 5/5 |
| 10:32 | 2E0IAZ | 2m | FM | Darren, 5/9 |
| 10:33 | M0KLM | 2m | FM | Bryn, 5/3 |
| 10:34 | M7MKS | 2m | FM | Mark, 5/9 |
In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.
Additional Information
The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Kinder Scout:
- Sotl.as Summit Page for G/SP-001 Kinder Scout.
- Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Kinder Scout.
- Google Earth view of Kinder Scout.
- Wikipedia entry for Kinder Scout.
- 360° Panorama near summit of G/SP-001 Kinder Scout.
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