This summit was jointly activated on 13th February 2005 by myself and Richard G3CWI, accompanied by Liam & Mai Ling.   

Jimmy was still poorly.  I had resigned myself to not receiving a Winter Bonus until December.  But then, as Sunday lunch approached, I got a 'phone call from Mr Sotabeams, and a too-good-to-refuse offer of a late afternoon bonus raid on the delightful Foel Fenlli GW/NW-051, and the rare luxury of being a passenger!

Jimmy was getting ready to go to the garden centre with Marianne, so I didn't trouble him with the details (in fact the whole episode will remain a state secret as far as Jimmy is concerned), and just waited for my wife and my firstborn to leave the house.  And wait.  And wait.  They eventually disappeared at precisely 15 minutes before the earliest time that Richard said he might arrive to collect us.  Although I had managed to sneak most of the gear out of the side door away from Jimmy's attention, we now had a rush on to get changed and warm the lentil & bacon soup for flask.  We were on the road shortly after 1pm, and were at the car park between NW-044 and NW-051 by around 2.20pm.

Mai Ling imposed the CWI family tradition by pacesetting the ascent at a most unreasonable speed.  Furthermore, despite my generous offer to guide the party up my own pleasantly unsteep route to the summit (Offa's Dyke Path and then cut back along the earthwork ramparts), Mai Ling insisted on the steep ascent, and after all, it was her choice of hill today.  I did a deal with her to descend on my route, considering the ever-growing membership of the SOTA Tumbletots Society on the descent of this one!  Liam and myself soon gave up trying to match Richard & Mai Ling's pace, and settled into our preferred steady trudge. 

   

We arrived on summit, with Richard proudly proclaiming he was on his 21st 80m CW contact.  I checked my rucsac, but unfortunately I had not brought a carton of salt from which to take a large pinch.  Liam and Mai Ling found two plastic swords in the summit cairn and reenacted battle scenes of years gone by in between dropping by for soup and hot chocolate subsistence.  Overall, I made 8 contacts, all on 2m FM, and including 4 S2S - Ian G7ADF/P on Gun G/SP-013 (but without prior written permission from EYP, CWI or INK), G4KKI/P on Pendle Hill G/SP-005, and M3FZK/P & M3HWG/P on Lowick High Common G/LD-049.  We descended on my preferred route, initially retracing our steps but ignoring the stairway going off to the right to continue gently around the earthworks to meet up with the Offa's Dyke Path to the west of the summit.

During the descent we were watching the arrival of a red ambulance helicopter to the car park, and it seemed there had been a serious sledging accident in a field adjacent to the steeper path.  We drove back to Macclesfield, arriving shortly before 6pm.  Thanks to Richard for the invite, and to Mai Ling for a fine choice of summit.  Not to mention 5 points I had assumed had passed me by... 

Thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts: