Wednesday 29 August 2012

RSGB 50 MHz Activity Contest 28 August 2012

I took part in last nights Radio Society of Great Britain VHF 50 MHz Contest which ran from 8.00pm until 10.30pm. I operated as a member of the Travelling Wave Contest Group.

All 77 contacts made were with stations in the UK and all bar one were completed using telephony. The other single contact was completed in Morse with Peter G3TJE/P who was operating in his car on high ground somewhere south of Bristol.

The most distant contact at 415 Km was with the Tiverton based South West Amateur Radio Club station of G4TSW in Devon. 

This is a Google Map of all my contacts, marked in blue. My station location in Pickering is marked in black. This map is provided by the RSGB Contest Committee:
Contacts made by G4OBK in the RSGB 50 MHz Contest 28 August 2012

Monday 27 August 2012

New QSL Cards on order from UX5UO

I've run out of QSL cards - these are the cards radio amateurs send out to other radio amateurs they have made contact with. We collect these and I've got 1000s now in my collection from every country in the world. 

This time I decided to order my 1000 new QSL cards from Gennady Treus UX5UO who lives in the Ukraine.  I've seen the cards Gennady produces and was impressed with the quality and price.  Here is the proof of my card:

Front of my new QSL Card
Rear of my new QSL Card
The photo was taken in May when I led a walk for Ryedale Walking Group over Staveley Fell in the Lake District. This is one of A Wainwright's Outlying Fells.

Saturday 25 August 2012


I've just had four reviews published on the Trip Advisor website from visits to three venues in the Lake District and one in Germany. You can read these reviews on the following links:




I use Trip Advisor a lot when I am planning trips and find it to be an excellent on line community. 

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Walk from Hutton le Hole 22 Aug 2012

Our route on 22 Aug 2012
This evening I led a walk for Ryedale Walking Group from Hutton le Hole.  After a short section of footpath in woodland at the back of the Ryedale Folk Museum we crossed the lane to skirt the moors, which were looking resplendent in their finest purple glory, the heather now being in full bloom.
Our group at Ryedale Folk Museum start point
The walk was well attended with 12 walkers and 3 dogs, composed of 10 ladies, 1 man (me) and one boy (Sam), who is the grandson of our member Ann. We had great fun crossing the ford near to Camomile Farm. I was glad that the water was quite shallow tonight!

We passed through the village of Lastingham, then taking a steep footpath up towards Spaunton. After passing through this village we turned left to pass Grange Farm, the track of which provided us with a fine Yorkshire vista from east to west. 
A fine body of cattle seen near to Mary Magdalene Well, Lastingham
We arrived back in Hutton le Hole before 8.15pm with several of us calling off at The Crown for a drink before returning home. It was still warm enough to sit outside.


We covered 4.25 miles at an average walking speed of 2.8 mph, with an overall speed allowing for two brief rest stops, of 2.5 mph.  Thank you to Colin (our absent member who had to go to work this evening) for planning out this fine route for us. 

Sunday 19 August 2012

Swallows are gathering in North Yorkshire


Saturday 18 August 2012 at the G4OBK QTH
I can always tell when autumn is not far away - this years young swallows start to gather on my VHF Aerials prior to flying away to warmer climes...

Saturday 18 August 2012

Two Wainwrights above the Vale of Lorton


A 4.7 mile moderate walk with 1450ft of ascent

We got just back from a short break in Keswick staying with our friends the Graham and Judith. 

As a contributor of over 30 walks to the Walking World Website since 2008 I found a gap in their coverage of over 5000 walks above the Vale of Lorton in the Lake District.  I remember this walk well, as I undertook it with Geoff Fielding in snow in January 2011.  You can find more detail here in my Wainwrights On The Air Blog. 

On this walk I was accompanied by my wife Judy and friends Graham and Judith. We parked at Thackthwaite, a hamlet on a quiet lane where there is parking under some trees for around six cars. 
The route over access land is well used by fellwalkers - although not an official right of way
there are stiles and gates at every fence line
We had a showery day and it rained when we reached our first summit of Fellbarrow, which is ranked as the 199th highest of the 214 fells.  After a brief rest stop and a few ham radio contacts for Wainwrights On The Air, we made our way via the access land over the minor summits of Smithy Fell and Sourfoot Fell before topping out at Low Fell, which is the 196th highest of the 214.

From here we had an excellent view down Crummock Water and the distinctive Mellbreak summit on its western shore, behind the group in the photo. 
Judith, Graham and Judy on Low Fell with Crummock Water in the background
We made our way back down via Watching Crag to rejoin our original path at a gate.  We had walked at a leisurely pace, and with breaks and the time on the radio from both Wainwrights the whole walk took us three hours all told.  

Phil making contacts on VHF for Wainwrights On The Air
It was only 1.30pm when we finished, so we retired to the Kirkstile Inn at Loweswater for some lunch. The Cumberland Tattie Pot is recommended. 

Full details of our walk route can be found on the Walking World Website under Walk Reference 6398 when it is published later this month. 

Sunday 5 August 2012

The Contemporary Art Of Walking - with artist Alison Lloyd

A 9 mile walk with artist Alison Lloyd

Hutton le Hole walk with artist Alison Lloyd on August 5th 2012
Five members of the Ryedale Walking Group (Phil, Judy, Jennie, Gary and Julie) and other members of the public joined artist Alison Lloyd on an art walk over the North York Moors. We had a brief enforced silence (we were not accustomed to that when we walk in a group!) and we had poetry and we had prose readings, one which I had submitted myself. 

Artist Alison Lloyd
We also had Gerry Orchard on our Art Walk. He is the Secretary of the Lyke Wake Walk Club. Gerry  gave us a rousing rendition of the Lyke Wake Walk Dirge during our generously timed lunch break (the weather was fine) and we found out a great deal of information from him about the history of this epic 40 mile walk across the moors from Osmotherley to Ravenscar which dates back to 1955.

Some of the group on Spaunton Knowl - after circling the contour in a line...twice
We circled the contour at the highest point of Spaunton Knowl twice - I'm not sure why, but it felt like "contemporary art" to me, and it was fun.  I never take walking with a group too seriously unless I am the walk leader, which I wasn't today, for me its a sociable activity and a chance to chat, we all should look out for one another, and not let the leader have all the responsibility, after all he or she is only a volunteer. So that is what we did, we all looked out for one another on this day, we all felt well and we all enjoyed it, age range around 14 to 70 (that's a total guess!) and we were all together with our anoraks, our maps, our compasses, our cameras,our GPS gadgets and our flasks and butties!

Slow Worm - on the roadside above Rosedale Chimney Bank Top 
When we returned to Ryedale Folk Museum at 4.00pm we all went away having spoken to people we had never met before, and would in most cases likely never meet again, but we all enjoyed the companionship in the outdoors and that is what walking in a group is all about. 

What would the people who live busting lives in city's who never do this kind of thing think of us?

We also ended up wiser about the Lyke Wake Walk and the dozens of other things you get to talk about when you are walking with others who you haven't met before, but most of what we talked about is now a blur. We talked so much about so many things, I can't remember who said what. That is what it is like walking with a group when you are middle aged.   It was fun though, it always is, and three of us retired to The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge afterwards for a drink and something to eat. 

Thursday 2 August 2012

Ryedale Walking Group - New Programme Published


As the Walks Coordinator for Ryedale Walking Group I published the autumn walking programme today, which is available from our website on the link above. 

Between September and December we have eleven walks arranged and one walking holiday which is based in Holmfirth. These will be led by nine different members of our walking group.  

The local walking shop Trailblazer in Pickering sponsor the printing of our programme and copies can be collected from their shop or at the Tourist Informaiton Centre in the town.