Long Crag, G/SB-008 - 319m ASL - NU 062 069 - OS Explorer 332 - 1 SOTA point            

After Tosson G/SB-007 on Saturday 30th July 2011, we had a second longish walk to consider, of 3.4km each way.  We headed back for the A697 then drove north until bearing left at NU093068. Only a short distance down this road saw us parking in a layby opposite the start of the track at NU091072. The forestry on this long walk was punctuated briefly for a long linear clearing through which power lines hung between pylons.

       

Although the map indicates that the forest track stops at NU074065, a path continued as Jim G0CQK promised. But the SB SOTA region manager had also promised that we would smell and hear the bees in the beehives a short distance down another track. I didn't, although Jimmy claimed to have heard them!

   

Once out of the forestry, the final approach to Long Crag summit seemed strangely familiar, even though it was a new unique. Everything - the path, the stones, the sand, the heather - looked uncannily like the final approach up to The Cloud G/SP-015. When I caught Jimmy up at the summit, he came across to pass the same observation!

       

There wasn't another 10 playcoins for Liam to spend in the Nintendo shop, for he had already used them all on Tosson, and the footstep count only restarts, rather like chaser points, in each calendar day. But at least there was plenty of charge left in the unit to keep him happily playing away by the trig point while Jimmy and I did some radio. I was pleased, that both Liam's 3DS, and my new mobile 'phone, both seemed to enjoy a significantly longer charge life than their respective predecessors. (Woo hoo, on a turgidity roll now...!).  Radio wise, it was 9 contacts on HF CW for me, one on 15m and the rest on 40m. Jimmy scored just the regulation four on 2m FM. It was now a long walk back to the car, as we passed the 30 mile mark for the holiday.

After driving back to the campsite in Wooler, we showered before returning to the Indian restaurant, this time for a full four course banquet meal, accompanied (of course) by large Kingfisher beers. It was an atmosphere of celebration in the restaurant, as we had now completed 6 out of out 7 target uniques, and would just need to bag Shillhope Law G/SB-006 as we commenced our journey home the next day.  Thanks to all the stations that called: