This summit was activated by me in a rare solo expedition on Saturday 21st June 2003.   

"On Ilkley Moor Bar Tat" ... I had been booked to play with a band in Bradford on the Saturday night, the set-up time being 7pm.  I set off with a little time to spare, but as I approached the area, not enough time to walk to the trig, activate the summit, walk back, drive to the gig and set up.  So I went straight to the venue and set up, and enquired with the bandleader as to what time I would need to be dressed (penguin suit, dickie bow etc) and available at play.  This was at about 6.15pm, and to my delight he said "Be back and ready for 9pm".  Success - and off to NP-028 (8 miles from the gig venue) it was. Driving up from between Shipley and Guiseley, I headed through the villages of East Morton and West Morton, then taking the right up the hill marked "Road unsuitable for motor vehicles after 2.5 miles" (or something like that).  This led up to a small parking/turning area at SE 102 453 outside the transmitters.  I walked alongside the boundary fence of the transmitter complex, along the path.  I should have bore slightly left at the Thimble Stones (boulders) at SE 109 452, but didn't even notice any kind of defined track at that point.   I did soon spot the trig point over to the left, and no indication that my path would swing round towards it, so I cut across the heather, which was quite easy, none of it being above "sock" height. 

The walk was about 0.75 miles each way, but still done in what seemed like lightning speed without my usual partners in crime - Jimmy (10) and Liam (6) dragging along with me!  After disturbing the Saturday evening meal and quality-time of a family of sheep, who had chosen the trig as their living room, I put out the CQ calls. One soon realises how well off we are for 2m VHF activity in the NW, when one steps outside of the region!  What seemed like eternities of silence and unanswered CQ calls didn't look quite so bad when reading back in my log that the four contacts were completed in 21 minutes - but still eerily quiet compared to what I am accustomed.  One downside - I got mithered to death (and bitten) by wave after wave of midges.  As stated above, I didn't have a hat on Ilkley Moor, but did soon resort to the pull-out hood in my jacket!

Callsign today was MX1SWL/P, club callsign of the International Short Wave League (ISWL) - see my radio page for more details.  Thanks to the following stations worked, all on 2m FM with 2.5 watts: