I awoke just after 6am on the morning of Bank Holiday Monday 29th May 2006.  Jimmy and Liam were still fast asleep, as were the rest of the chaps in the dorm, mostly Coast 2 Coast walkers.  I went down to the YHA members' kitchen, made myself a brew and put on the three cans of lentil soup to warm up for the flask.  Yes, we were having something of a change of this trip with non-gourmet soups.  The previous day on Normanby Top G/TW-005 it was a combination of Heinz Big Soups - two tins of Lamb & Vegetable and one tin of Beef & Vegetable.  The following day on Cringle Moor-Drake Howe G/TW-002 it was Oxtail.  Don't worry, the Baxter's Lobster Bisque will return! I continued with my jobs, cleaning and refilling the three hydration packs and checking the rucksacks. 

Jimmy and Liam were still asleep at 7.45am, but were miraculously up, dressed, washed and at the hostel breakfast table for 8am sharp.  I suspect there may have been a little "work avoidance pretending-to-be-asleep" going on.  Porridge followed by full English set us up nicely for a great day on the Cleveland Way. We headed NE on the A172 towards Middlesbrough, and then took the country roads down to Commondale.  I was intending starting from that village as per the description on Phil G4OBK's website, but Jimmy insisted he had found a better route from a more elevated position.  At his instruction, I parked at NZ647098 on a grass verge outside Wayworth farm, opposite a track that was signed as a PROW.  We followed this either flat or gentle rising track all the way to the summit for a very easy and pleasant walk in.  All around us were heavy black clouds and heavy showers, but we escaped totally.  Other walkers reported golf ball sized hailstones at the hostel that evening.

We again tried to kick off on 144.300 SSB with 5 watts, and Jimmy providing the SOTAwatch spot, but again the band was as flat as a pancake, so after ten minutes of calling we reverted to FM.  Contacts were hard to find, and we were about to reluctantly set up for 40m HF (reluctantly because it was extremely windy, and the windchill factor brought in by the Arctic wind off North Sea was considerable).  However, George M1BTG answered the call, and this was a stroke of good fortune because his wife Lesa M0BQD was then able to work us, and again using the club call GX0NWM/P.  I have read on the internet that other SOTA activators have benefited in this way from George and Lesa too!  G8YBO provided the fourth contact for Jimmy and myself, and after checking that there were no further callers, we set off in pursuit of Liam who had left the summit a few minutes earlier.  

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