Author: Jack

This was the third of the three summits that I activated after renting a car in Zaragoza, the first two sites were EA2/ZG-065 and EA2/ZG-060. Of the three, this one was the most remote and the road quality from EA2/ZG-060 to EA2/ZG-011 and then back to Zaragoza was the worst of the trip. My rental car was not an off road vehicle or even a crossover model, but it did have a bit higher clearance than some of the other cars in the line up at Hertz. I think that helped because the center hump was pronounced at some points and I drove a couple segments straddling some deeper crevices.

However, it turned out to be more than worthwhile to tolerate a few kilometers of white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel: this summit yielded my longest S2S contact (with New York, USA) and I think my only SOTA QSOs between Europe and South America (multiple stations in Brazil).

The second summit on my whirlwind tour of the outskirts of Zaragoza was the weather radar site at Monte Oscuro. After leaving EA2/ZG-065, the roads quickly transitioned from paved to dirt, but the general condition of the road was pretty good. I would just recommend taking it easy to avoid some of the larger ruts. The final bit of road to the peak transitioned briefly to concrete, probably in an area that had eroded. The peak itself, though, is a dirt road loop with the upper part of the loop passing the radar.

I visited Beacon Batch around nine in the morning on a chilly weekend in January. There is a convenient parking area near this site and the name is particularly encouraging: the Burrington Ham Parking Lot (51.319928N, 2.734174W). However, in this case, not everyone parking there was a ham. Despite drizzly weather and temperature just below freezing, there was a lot of activity in this area: hikers, bikers, horse riders, even an orienteering group walking around with compasses and maps, so the parking lot was almost full when I arrived. I would suggest getting here early on weekend days. It is possible to park along the verge, and if you do so, I would recommend picking a straight part of the road uphill from the car park, so you have a better view of oncoming traffic (and vice versa).

This was the third summit of the day, the first two being G/SC-008 (Win Green) and G/SE-001 (Walbury Hill). When I arrived, the town was smothered in thick fog and the winter sun was low on the horizon. Getting here was not difficult, I typed “Dundry Down Carpark” into Google Maps, and that brought me to the carpark at the trail head, just a bit uphill from the town church. Coordinates for the carpark are 51.399084N, 2.639259W.

Since my office is based in Sussex, I’ve been focusing on G/SE, so this was my first foray into the south-central area. Win Green has been described as a very popular site, and that was the definitely true on the day I went there. The whole hill top is surrounded by fences, so a really excellent place for dogs to have a chance to run around.

Parking is no problem – typing “Win Green Visitor’s Car Park” into satnav should get you there, or for those who want their coordinates old school: 50.983630N, 2.110948W.

I activated this peak on the same day as FL/SO-006 (see that report); from there, this peak was about a half hour drive. I noted one item of interest on the map when planning this activation: the summit (red marker) it is just around the corner from a French military installation (most southern marker) that is bristling with large satellite dishes and surrounded by high, serious-looking fences with lots of warning signs. My suggestion is to steer clear of that facility while walking around with a backpack full of radio gear.