Y Llethr NW-017

Y Llethr, GW/NW-017 - 756m ASL - SH 661 257 - OS Explorer OL18 - 6 SOTA points

It was another late start. After another excellent Ty Seren Welsh breakfast, we headed out for the parking spot, miles down narrow country lanes in Cwm Nantcol. It’s exactly the same parking spot as for Moelfre GW/NW-041, and the reason these two are often done together. We’d intended this last year, but ran short of time and energy! They are both substantial climbs from the saddle.

So we sat in the car, again, waiting for the rain to stop. Again, the rain took its time. When it did stop, we decided to go for it. By the time we reached the gate at the first wall, it was raining heavily. We agreed to return to the car and be more patient. The parking spot had a bit of take off in a westerly direction. To kill some time, I decided to do an FM car radio bandscan to complement the MW one I’d done the previous day! 78 logs were made, the most interesting including the Irish stations Spirit Radio, Dublin Classic Hits, South East Radio (Wexford), East Coast FM, 98FM (Dublin), Radio Nova, Beat Radio, Q102 (Dublin), Spin South West, Dublin City FM, SPIN1038, FM104, Newstalk, Raidio Na Life and Sunshine 106.8.

Freq	UTC	Station & details
87.8	1137	RTE Radio 1, Clermont Carn - "Message to Michael"
88.1	1138	BBC Radio 2, Ffestiniog - pop
88.5	1139	RTE Radio 1, Three Rock - "Message to Michael", //87.8
88.7	1139	BBC Radio 2, Blaenplwyf - pop
88.9	1139	BBC Radio 2, Llangollen - pop
89.1	1140	RTE Radio 1, Kippure - //87.8
89.3	1140	BBC Radio 2, Holme Moss - festival tents
89.6	1141	RTE Radio 1, Mount Leinster - anniversaries
89.8	1142	BBC Radio 2, Anglesey - festival tents
89.9	1142	Spirit Radio, Dublin - rlg pop
90.3	1143	BBC Radio Wales, Ffestiniog - Wyn Evans Show
90.7	1145	2FM, Three Rock - pop, chat
90.9	1148	BBC Radio 3, Blaenplwyf - harpsichord music
91.1	1148	BBC Radio Wales, Llangollen - rock
91.3	1149	2FM, Kippure - Jonas Brothers gig
91.5	1149	BBC Radio 3, Holme Moss - classical
91.8	1150	2FM, Mount Leinster - "Sound of the Nation"
92.0	1151	BBC Radio 3, Anglesey - harpsichord mx
92.5	1151	BBC Radio Cymru, Ffestiniog - Welsh language programming
92.9	1152	RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta, Three Rock - Irish language
93.1	1152	BBC Radio Cymru, Blaenplwyf - Welsh language programming
93.3	1153	BBC Radio 4, Llangollen - funerals
93.5	1153	RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta, Kippure - Irish language
93.7	1154	BBC Radio 4, Holme Moss - funerals
94.0	1154	RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta, Mount Leinster - Irish language
94.2	1155	BBC Radio Cymru, Anglesey - Welsh language programming
94.8	1155	BBC Radio Wales, Anglesey - "Lovely Day" - Bill Withers
94.9	1158	Classic Hits, Dublin - current affairs phone-in
95.1	1200	BBC Radio Manchester, Holme Moss - news
95.2	1202	RTE Lyric FM, Clermont Carn - classical mx
95.3	1203	BBC Radio Wales, Blaenplwyf - sport
95.6	1204	South East Radio, Waterford - news
96.2	1206	East Coast FM, Bray Head - sport
96.4	1208	Signal 1, Sutton Common, Cheshire - pop
96.6	1212	Nation Radio, Mynydd Pencarreg(?) - 80s pop
96.7	1215	RTE Lyric FM, Three Rock - violin concerto
97.0	1216	2FM, Clermont Carn - dance
97.3	1217	Today FM, tx site? - pop
97.4	1218	Nation Radio, Penwaun - 80s pop
97.7	1218	BBC Radio 1, Ffestiniog - dance
98.1	1219	98FM, Dublin - dance
98.3	1219	BBC Radio 1, Blaenplwyf - Daft Punk
98.5	1220	BBC Radio 1, Llangollen - Daft Punk
98.7	1220	RTE Lyric FM, Kippure - Chopin
98.9	1220	BBC Radio 1, Holme Moss - dance
99.2	1221	RTE Lyric FM, Mount Leinster - Chopin
99.4	1221	BBC Radio 1, Anglesey - dance
100.3	1221	Radio Nova, Dublin - pop
100.4	1222	Smooth, Winter Hill - The Real Thing
100.5	1222	Classic FM, Presell(?) - John Barry
100.9	1223	Today FM, Kippure - first ever album you bought
101.1	1223	Classic FM, Holme Moss - classical mx
101.4	1223	Today FM, Mount Leinster - advertisements
101.8	1224	Today FM, Three Rock - ad for Sky VIP
102.0	1224	Beat, Mount Leinster - pop
102.2	1225	Q102, Dublin - feelgood favourites
102.5	1225	Spin South West, Kerry - Beatles
102.7	1226	RTE Raidio na Gaeltachta, Clermont Carn - Irish language
103.0	1227	Capital, Caernarfon - r+b mx
103.2	1227	Dublin City FM - dance
103.3	1228	Nation Radio, Blaenplwyf - Pointer Sisters
103.5	1230	BBC Radio 4, Ffestiniog - NHS
103.6	1231	BBC Radio 4, Anglesey - NHS
103.8	1231	SPIN 1038, Dublin - dance
104.0	1232	BBC Radio 4, Blaenplwyf - NHS
104.3	1232	BBC Radio Cymru - Llangollen - Welsh language programming
104.4	1233	FM104, Dublin (Three Rock tx) - dance
105.0	1234	iRadio, Mount Oriel, Co. Louth - dance
105.4	1234	Heart, Winter Hill - pop
105.5	1235	Today FM, Clermont Carn - 60s music
105.7	1235	Heart, Great Orme - pop //105.4
105.9	1236	City Talk, Liverpool - chat, ID (was expecting Greatest Hits Radio!)
106.0	1236	Newstalk, Three Rock - golf
106.4	1236	Raidio na Life, Three Rock - dance
106.8	1237	Sunshine 106.8, Dublin - Whitney Houston
106.9	1238	Heart, Moel-y-Parc - dance
107.2	1240	Heart, Arfon - competition
107.7	1241	Heart, Blaenplwyf - X Men
107.9	1242	Newstalk, Clermont Carn - jobs

We took lunch in the car again - Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Seafood Chowder. After 15 dry minutes, we decided to try again. Skies were clearing to the west and all the available weather forecasts suggested we would now be fairly clear of rain. Well we didn’t escape it completely, but only suffered three very short (seconds) spells of very light rain.

After a bit of a slog to the saddle (which we actually made in very good time), we then turned left and aimed for the wall corner. We then walked along a quad bike trail in the grass, parallel to the gently ascending wall. This was actually a surprisingly pleasant walk which we enjoyed. Eventually, we reached a wooden ladder stile over the wall, leaving just the final 50m of height to gain. This was the only steep part of the route, and we accomplished it powered by biscuits raided from our B&B bedrooms.

Going light certainly assisted our pace and energy levels. It wasn’t immediate that we gathered our four contacts to qualify, but certainly within around 20 minutes, so not at all bad. It was a surprise and a pleasure to hear from Barry 2W0PXW/P on Shell Island. Barry used to be a regular voice in SOTA, but it had been years since our last QSO.

The mainstay of the trip so far had been Allan GW4VPX who had worked one or both of us on all but one activation. The forecast had predicted heavy rain to coincide with our descent, but it couldn’t have been more wrong. We were treated to stunning views as we headed back down to the col. Moelfre GW/NW-041 stood tall and imposing before us, with the Irish Sea, and the SOTA summit-adorned Lleyn Peninsular in the background. So, just one GW/NW summit remained to be activated by EYP and HGY. We looked forward to that over a nice dinner and a few beers in Dolgellau that evening!

We now had just one summit remaining to be activated in the North Wales region - Y Garn GW/NW-037 - which was our plan for the following day.