Carneddol - GW/NW-068 SOTA (2025)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Friday 19th September, 2025.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Carneddol, North Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/NW-068 (1 point).
Summit Height: 235m elevation, 157m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 52.86847, -4.52536. Maidenhead Grid IO72ru.
Distance: 0.8km travelled with 80m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 30m (including operating).
Weather: 15°C, light rain, 35 kph S wind, 99% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, Slim-J, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 6 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Carneddol at 235 metres is perhaps the least remarkable of the Llyn Peninsula’s Marilyn summits, though it qualifies comfortably with 156 metres of prominence. The name derives from carnedd (cairn or heap of stones) plus the adjectival suffix -ol, essentially meaning “cairn-like” - the same root as the Carneddau range in Snowdonia. Unlike its neighbours, this summit lacks significant archaeological features or dramatic terrain.

This was my third hill of the day and the weather continued wet and misty. Rural narrow roads lead to a small parking opportunity on the grass verge to the east of the summit. I spoke with the friendly farmers who were already familiar with the Marilyns hill classification scheme. They recommended parking by the silage bales and using the gate opposite - always worth consulting landowners before crossing private farmland.

The walk itself is short and unremarkable. Cross the farm field gate and follow pathless terrain westward up the grassy hillside. After less than 500 metres, the nondescript summit is reached. The total distance was just 0.8 kilometres with 80 metres of ascent - the quickest activation of my four-summit day at around 30 minutes including operating time.

Still raining, I set up my Yaesu FTM100D and obtained six contacts on 2m FM as quickly as I could. MW0RHD and 2W0IMX came back within moments, followed by MW0WYN, GW0PLP, GW4TJC and MW0AEV. Strong signals all round despite the low elevation, likely helped by the hill’s unobstructed position.

I then walked back down the grassy slopes to the road and headed off to the last hill of the day. While unremarkable, Carneddol ticks the Marilyn box. For activators planning a multi-summit day on the Llyn, this one slots in nicely between the more dramatic hills.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Carneddol on Friday 19th September, 2025.

Walking Route for Carneddol

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Carneddol. The GW/NW-068 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 6 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/NW-068 Carneddol on Friday 19th September, 2025 (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 Carneddol:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/NW-068 Carneddol.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Carneddol.
• Google Maps Page for Carneddol.
• Wikipedia entry for Carneddol.

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