Cairngaver, GI/MM-017 - 214m ASL - J 454 765 - OSNI Discoverer 15 - 1 SOTA point            

Tuesday 6th November 2018 - Cairngaver GI/MM-017

I used online mapping to suggest a postcode for the access road up to the summit, but once in the vicinity, I couldn’t find the correct turning.  Instead I parked in the Cairn Wood car park and attempted to walk to the summit using the forest trails.  Without adequate mapping or preparation, I couldn’t find the route out of the woods and across to the summit either. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable walk, most of it accompanied by a Cumbrian man who has been living in GI since 1970, and his little dog.  So a failed expedition.  I reported back to Jimmy M0HGY later, who showed me on the map the exact turning I needed, showed me a photo of it on Google Streetview, and programmed the coordinates into my satnav!  We had a great meal that night in Bootleggers, Belfast - highly recommended.

Wednesday 7th November 2018 - Cairngaver GI/MM-017

Determined to exorcise the previous day’s fail, I got up at 5am and had an early breakfast cereal and coffee.  The storm was hitting hard and I set off driving across Belfast in torrential rain.  Several areas of flash flooding needed to be carefully negotiated.  This time I found the road easily and was parking up just a few yards from the summit well before dawn.  The rain actually eased off, very conveniently, for the period of my activating. 

I just used the handheld and gathered five QSOS on 2m FM.  The weather looked better for the following day, so I planned an early activation on Slieve Croob GI/MM-010 and a family circular walk on Divis GI/AH-004 later in the day.