Cleeve Hill, G/CE-001 - 330m ASL - SO 997 246 - OS Explorer 179 - 1 SOTA point           

SOTA road trip, Day 6 - Thursday 6th August 2020

From Staple Hill G/SC-004, it was a drive of about 95 miles, mainly back up the M5, to Cheltenham, and then up to Cleeve Hill Common.  This was yet another very short easy walk in a day that had been full of them!  I didn't even bother walking up the field to the trig point for this activation; I just took my rucksack through the gate onto the common, and set up my antenna!

I had noted another car in the car park with amateur radio aerials on it.  I didn't see anyone else activating though, and there weren't any spots showing for activity on Cleeve Hill.  Soon though, a couple were walking towards me having spotted my antenna as they completed their walk on Cleeve Common.  The gentleman introduced himself as a 2E0 station and we had a good chat.

I started off on 17m FT8 and made four QSOs, punctuated with working father-and-son duo Stewart G0LGS and Matt 2E0MDJ on 2m FM.  Back in the car, I started to look for accommodation for the evening.  After two consecutive nights of wild camping in my backpacking tent, I was ready for a shower and a comfy bed, and all my devices and Tracer battery needed recharging.  I secured a room at Tewkesbury Travelodge, and set my satnav for Bredon Hill G/CE-003 for a late night activation.