Belling Hill, GM/SS-244 - 354m ASL - NT 642 118 - OS Explorer OL16 - 1 SOTA point            

Thursday 8th September 2022 - Rubers Law GM/SS-210 & Belling Hill GM/SS-244

After Rubers Law GM/SS-210, we drove further east, and a bit south to the parking spot NT 64398 11419 on a minor road near Falside.

We were very much now into "shower dodging" territory and were watching the Met Office app rain radar very closely.  A window appeared, and we went for it, secure in the knowledge that this was a very short easy walk, and that it was our last summit of the day.

We located the summit at Feast Knowe by a wall and fence corner, and noted a summit feature we weren't anticipating (pictured above).

Our usual antennas were erected, and we got to work.  Unfortunately, the rain came in earlier and more unpleasantly than predicted.  By the time I'd finished setting up, Jimmy had already run out of patience on VHF and so operated on 20m SSB even before I'd started myself.  He qualified his activation, then returned to give 2m FM another try before throwing in the towel and packing up.  I racked up eight QSOs on 20m CW.  No summit-to-summit action this time, and no appetite to linger around looking for some!

We drove back to the Tushielaw Inn and got ready for dinner.  Haggis, neeps & tatties was on the menu, so that was an easy decision for us both.  Washed down with the Belhaven Best.  We were visited by musician friends of mine Mac & Karen who live in Edinburgh.  Mac is a leading cabaret and tribute artiste, with Jamiroquai, David Bowie and Marc Bolan in his repertoire.  It was a lovely evening in their company.

The weather forecast for the following day was horrendous, so we agreed to abandon any remaining SOTA plans, and get on with the drive back home.