Bank Holiday Monday 30th May 2005 - We now had a quick 2 mile drive along the country lanes to Byton, where we turned right and right again to the end of the road by a residence.  There was just space to tuck my car in, but no sign of the public footpath - The Mortimer Trail no less - mapped to go through the residence's driveway to meet the path from the back.  No, just a sign that kindly informed "Private - guard dogs on the loose".  Nice.  However, a glance at the map revealed a way around the problem by walking 200 yards back down the road and picking up a diagonal path across a field to the back of the house in question.  It was then through some woods and then what seemed to be a long climb by the fence at the top of the hellishly steep Byton Common.  There were a couple of "don't look down" moments, and eventually we reached the edge of Shobdon Hill Wood.  This was not completely wooded, and a large area around the summit (not marked on the ground) was cleared.

Five contacts, all regulars - BVE, WZY, JZF, NES, COP. Back to the car, straight to the Bell at Talgarth for another fine feast, shower at the campsite, and the three of us in our sleeping bags just after 11pm.

Thanks to the following stations, all worked on 2m FM with 5 watts from the FT-817: