This summit, hardly aptly described as a "Mountain", proved to be our most difficult SOTA activation so far.  Following on from our earlier activation of Moel y Gamelin NW-042, it was on 18th April 2003 that Jimmy, Liam and I drove to Hope Mountain, near the village of Caergwrle in Flintshire.  We parked in some space at the side of the road outside the farm where the mapped PROW is indicated at SJ 292 569.   While we appreciated that the field containing the trig point was private land and access was not available, the field containing the PROW was within 15m vertically of the summit, making it eligible for an activation according to the SOTA rule that requires activation to be within 25m vertically of the summit.  So it was that we looked for the signpost indicating exactly where the PROW started.  On the map, it appeared that it started in the farmyard, but the only sign here was "Loose dogs, enter at own risk!".  As we looked around close to the farm entrance, out came the "loose dogs" and barked aggressively as we moved away.  They then came out onto the road and stalked right up into our car.  We waited a few minutes in the car until the dogs had disappeared, then had another look for the PROW.  We found a stile and path up the side of the farm and figured that the farmer must have rerouted the path this way.  We followed this until we came to a live electric fence - which gave me a shuddering kick through the body as I accidentally came into contact with it.   Further inspection revealed that this electric fence was also blocking the mapped PROW route.  Carefully, we crawled under it into the field which contained the next section of the mapped PROW.  But at that point, the two dogs appeared from the back of the farmyard and into the field, and we were again being stalked by two guard dogs!   They forced us away from the public footpath and right upto the gate leading into the field containing the trig point, and they continued to move in, growling and barking, and appearing evermore edgy.  Our only escape was into the trig point field, and once we were in here, the dogs left us alone and returned to the farmyard.  Having been forced into this area, away from the PROW, by working dogs acting under the instruction and training of the landowner, I considered myself to be not trespassing, but authorised, and made for the trig point to activate the summit!  The descent, via a different field, proved to be less eventful, but still required avoiding the attention of a resting dog and the attention of another live fence! 

Callsign today was MC1SWL/P, club callsign of the International Short Wave League (ISWL) - see my radio page for more details.  Thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts: