Mynydd y Lan - GW/SW-024 SOTA (2025)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Sunday 21st September, 2025.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Mynydd y Lan, South Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/SW-024 (1 point).
Summit Height: 385m elevation, 219m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 51.62431, -3.14402. Maidenhead Grid IO81ko.
Distance: 2.0km travelled with 49m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 45m (including operating).
Weather: 13°C, sunny, 17kph ENE wind, 59% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Elecraft KX2, Elecraft AX1.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 4 (20m SSB).

Trip Notes

Mynydd y Lan takes its name from Welsh ecclesiastical terminology - mynydd y lan meaning “mountain of the church” where lan is the soft-mutated form of llan, originally an enclosed piece of consecrated land. St Tudor’s Church has occupied a site on this plateau since the 5th century. At 385 metres with 219 metres prominence, this qualifies as a Marilyn, though the summit itself is rather unremarkable - a vast flat grassy plateau of soft ground.

This walk starts using roadside verge parking for just one car on the narrow road near the village of Wattsville. This limited parking is the main drawback - if another vehicle is blocking the space, you will struggle to find an alternative without walking considerably further. I followed the mast service road which leads immediately away from the parking spot, heading east.

The solar panels in the field next to the path have security cameras to deter thieves. An automated loudspeaker announced it was calling the police as I walked past - somewhat alarming but presumably triggered by motion detection rather than any actual threat assessment!

The sloping track levels out to the large summit plateau. The activation zone for this hill is extensive, and while the true summit lies further south marked only by a mound near a boundary stone, I chose to activate from near the disused wireless transmission towers using a small wooden bench on the path. Mild, pleasant weather made for comfortable operating.

I quickly made the required four contacts on 20 metres SSB - DL8DXL, F6GBP, OH3GZ reaching into Finland, and EA3EVL in Spain. With the minimum contacts secured, I packed away my Elecraft KX2 and AX1 antenna and headed back to the car. This is a reasonably pleasant small hill popular with mountain cyclists from the nearby Cwmcarn Forest trails, though I will probably not revisit.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Mynydd y Lan on Sunday 21st September, 2025.

Walking Route for Mynydd y Lan

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Mynydd y Lan. The GW/SW-024 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 4 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/SW-024 Mynydd y Lan on Sunday 21st 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 Mynydd y Lan:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/SW-024 Mynydd y Lan.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Mynydd y Lan.
• Google Maps Page for Mynydd y Lan.
• Wikipedia entry for Mynydd y Lan.

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