Tuesday 20th February 2018 - The Shropshire 5 (Even Though 1 Of Them Isn’t In Shropshire)

A great end to the day, but a dreadful start.

This sequence of hills is a popular outing within the seasonal bonus period.  Reasonably accessible hills, walks all either easy or at least straightforward, and the bonus amounting to a massive 150%, magnifying the ten points to a bumper 25.  I loaded the postcodes into the car satnav the previous night, so I was ready to go first thing.  I was away by 0520 UTC, and less than half-an-hour later, having breakfast at McDonald’s in Congleton. 

But that wasn’t the dreadful start to the day, as uninspiring as it was. No, that came on the A442 at Halesfield, near Telford. I was in a queue at a roundabout when BANG - I got smacked in the rear by a white Ford Mondeo. I was gutted - my Dacia Duster is barely 18 months old, and thus far unblemished. Anyway, it looks like only the rear panel of the bodywork was cracked, so no seriously mechanical damage. Plus, I wasn’t injured. Better still, the other driver admitted liability fully and immediately and got straight onto her insurance company, who started making arrangements for my vehicle repair and courtesy car there and then. So it really could have been a whole lot worse - something I kept reminding myself of throughout the day.

Back on the road, I made my way to Titterstone Clee Hill G/WB-004.  For this one, I’d put an extra postcode into the satnav route, in order to ensure that I approached from the A4117 to the south, and not the more direct but heavily potholed lane from the west.  For as much as I could, I’d intended not carrying a rucksack for the day’s activations, just taking handheld in pocket.  I figured that there would be plenty of breaks and opportunities to eat and drink.

The handheld-only strategy was fine for this first summit - as indeed it was for the rest through the day - and I made six QSOs - four on 2m FM and two on 2m C4FM. I wasn’t bothered about hanging around too long anyway - for reasons of the five summit schedule, the charge level in the handheld (even though it would be recharging in the car between each summit), but moreover the icy wind, which added a genuinely bitter quality to the cold.  Next up was Brown Clee Hill G/WB-002.