Upper Park - GW/MW-032 SOTA (2023)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Sunday 6th August, 2023.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Upper Park, Mid Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/MW-032 (1 point).
Summit Height: 352m elevation, 174m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 52.63912, -3.19881. Maidenhead Grid IO82jp.
Distance: 4.9km travelled with 193m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 1h 55m (including operating).
Weather: 18°C, light breeze, sunny.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu VX6, Diamond SRH770S.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 5 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Upper Park, standing at 352 metres near Welshpool, is perhaps the most infamous summit in Welsh SOTA circles. With 174 metres of prominence, it qualifies as a Marilyn, yet its classification belies the extraordinary difficulty in reaching its summit. The hill lies entirely within the private Powis Estate, whose landowners have historically declined public access. For activators pursuing the goal of completing all 159 Welsh SOTA summits, Upper Park has long represented the final, seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

The history of attempts to access this summit reads like a saga of perseverance. Gerald G4OIG and his activating partner Paul G4MD have been writing to the Estate since completing all other Welsh summits in March 2010. For over thirteen years, various activators have lobbied for permission, receiving consistent refusals. A fortunate few, including the prolific Tom M1EYP, managed to secure individual access after years of correspondence, but such successes remained rare exceptions. I must admit that I had previously held the opinion that if a SOTA summit is genuinely inaccessible to the general public, whether due to a hostile landowner, military restrictions, or other barriers, then it should perhaps be declared inactive by the region manager. This experience, however, has softened that view considerably. The effort required to access Upper Park adds a dimension of challenge that makes the eventual activation all the more meaningful.

The breakthrough came through Ben GW4BML, a prolific SOTA expert with connections to the Powis Estate. Ben had been in discussions with the Estate Manager, aware that numerous activators were tantalisingly close to completing all Welsh summits, with Upper Park as their sole remaining obstacle. Through patient negotiation, Ben secured permission for organised group activations, with each participant contributing twenty pounds to a charity selected by the Estate. When Ben contacted me about an opportunity on 6th August 2023, I was keen to participate. The Estate had advised Ben that this would be the last possible date they would host SOTA colleagues for the foreseeable future, lending additional urgency to the occasion. I adjusted my family commitments accordingly, recognising this might represent my only chance to legitimately activate this rare summit.

We gathered in the wooded parking area at one of the estate vehicle entrances, approximately twenty activators in total. The atmosphere was one of quiet excitement; many of those present had been working towards completing Welsh SOTA for years, and for them this day represented the culmination of considerable effort. After introductions and handshakes, we set off along the prescribed route. The walking itself proved straightforward, following a gentle incline along a metalled forestry road. After approximately two kilometres, the track crosses the summit area. The activation zone here is large, with open grassed areas interspersed with woodland, providing ample space for the group to spread out without interference.

Ben’s organisation was exemplary. Rather than have everyone compete for contacts simultaneously, he divided us into teams. Groups of activators descended the hillside until they were outside the activation zone, where they acted as chasers for those remaining at the summit. This rotation system ensured everyone could quickly and efficiently secure the four contacts required to qualify the summit. It was a clever solution born of Ben’s experience from previous group trips.

After securing my four qualifying contacts, I headed to a forest corner where a fence line offered a convenient surface for my logbook. Using my Yaesu VX6 handheld with the Diamond SRH770S antenna, I attempted to make additional contacts. I managed just one, but what a contact it proved to be: Tom M1EYP on The Cloud (G/SP-015) in the Southern Pennines. This summit-to-summit contact meant that within approximately twenty minutes I had activated Upper Park, chased it, and logged an S2S, a remarkable trifecta for such a rare hill.

The social aspect of the day proved equally rewarding. SOTA activating is often a solitary pursuit, and there was something special about being among a group of like-minded enthusiasts who required no explanation for the fishing poles protruding from rucksacks. I had the pleasure of meeting many operators whose voices I had previously only heard over the airwaves, including Pete MW0PJE, Robert M0RWX, Matthew M0JSB, Philip G4HQB, Rick M5RJC, and of course Ben GW4BML himself.

I made an early departure, needing to return home for a family event from which I had rather cheekily absconded to bag this rare summit. The walk back was straightforward, completing a circuit of 4.9 kilometres with 193 metres of ascent in just under two hours including the activation time.

The future of Upper Park activations remains uncertain. Ben has indicated that the current outlook suggests no further activations will be possible for at least two years, though hopefully circumstances may change. For those pursuing completion of all Welsh SOTA summits, the advice is clear: watch the SOTA Reflector for any announcements, and when an opportunity arises, seize it without hesitation.

I am immensely grateful to Ben GW4BML for the considerable effort he invested in organising this day. His patient negotiations with the Estate, coordination of the group logistics, and tactical approach to ensuring everyone qualified the summit demonstrated exactly the kind of community spirit that makes SOTA such an enjoyable pursuit. This activation will remain one of my most memorable, not for the walking or the views, but for the sense of occasion and the camaraderie of fellow activators who understood precisely why we had all gathered on that August morning.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Upper Park on Sunday 6th August, 2023.

Walking Route for Upper Park

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Upper Park. The GW/MW-032 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 5 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/MW-032 Upper Park on Sunday 6th August, 2023 (all times shown are UTC):

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 Upper Park:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/MW-032 Upper Park.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Upper Park.
• Google Maps Page for Upper Park.
• Wikipedia entry for Upper Park.

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