Ruardean Hill Hike - G/WB-021 SOTA (2020)
Summits on the Air Activation Report
Activation Date: Sunday 24th May, 2020.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Ruardean Hill, Welsh Borders, England.
Summit ID: SOTA reference G/WB-021 (1 point).
Summit Height: 290m elevation, 174m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 51.84961, -2.53141. Maidenhead Grid IO81ru.
Distance: 0.1km travelled with 1m of ascent.
Difficulty: Drive on summit.
Elapsed Time: 15m (including operating).
Weather: Feels like 18.9°C, 20 kph W wind, 47% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 9 (2m FM).
Trip Notes
Ruardean Hill, located in the English county of Gloucestershire, is a prominent hill and village situated 20 km west of Gloucester in the Forest of Dean. The hill is part of a low range of hills that separates the River Severn from the River Wye, and its southern slopes are wooded and form part of the northern edge of the Forest of Dean. At 290 meters above sea level, Ruardean Hill’s summit is the highest point in the Forest of Dean.
For the purposes of the Summits on the Air scheme, this is a drive on summit. The trig point is adjacent to the main road. Some activators chose to set up in the school car park, however my preference is to drive a short way down the track to a quiet gravel car park. Here there is a good view across the countryside and a convenient fire beacon which makes for a convenient seat and table to operate from.
I spent a few minutes making contacts - including a S2S with Nick M0NYY/P on Cleeve Hill - and enjoying the view, before returning to the car.
This is a convenient and easy hill to activate, and would be ideally suited to the Summits on the Air novice, or someone short on time or fitness looking to activate a SOTA hill. There is no GPX track provided below due to the short walk-in.
Photos
Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Ruardean Hill on Sunday 24th May, 2020.
Station Log
I logged the following 9 amateur radio contacts operating as M1HAX/P from G/WB-021 Ruardean Hill on Sunday 24th May, 2020 (all times shown are UTC):
| Time | Callsign | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:39 | G0SDD | 2m | FM | Chris, 5/9 |
| 11:40 | 2E0LMA/P | 2m | FM | Lee, 5/9 |
| 11:41 | G0LGS | 2m | FM | Stewart, 5/9 |
| 11:42 | 2E0MDJ | 2m | FM | Matt, 5/9 |
| 11:43 | G6BPC | 2m | FM | Nick, 5/7 |
| 11:44 | G1ERM | 2m | FM | Darren, 5/5 |
| 11:45 | M6FTR/M | 2m | FM | Adrian, 5/9 |
| 11:47 | G4WTF | 2m | FM | Ian, 5/9 |
| 11:49 | M0NYY/P | 2m | FM | Nick, 5/9, S2S G/CE-001 |
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 Ruardean Hill:
- Sotl.as Summit Page for G/WB-021 Ruardean Hill.
- Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Ruardean Hill.
- Google Earth view of Ruardean Hill.
- Wikipedia entry for Ruardean Hill.
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