Category - Blog

Ramsey Island

The Strumble Head team met at the Club House on Tuesday giving us time to test, prepare and pack the items needed for this year. As before, we always try to be more efficient and to take only the essential items to the island but also with consideration that we may have to stay longer than anticipated should the weather turn poor.
Sea and weather conditions were forecast to be very poor for the crossing on the Thursday morning but what a surprise to awake at 04:45 to see a beautiful morning on the Pembrokeshire Coast. The vehicles were loaded and we arrived at the Lifeboat Slipway around 07:30 where shortly afterwards the ‘Thousand Island Boat Charters’ arrived and we were on the Island by 08:00, amazing. (Click here for You Tube video of the boat crossing).

After heaving all the gear to the top of the ‘harbour’ we then had the massive climb to the top of the Island where we bunk in a Barn (complete with broody Chickens!). Carrying 2 x Acom 1000 Amplifiers, 2 x FT1000MPs and worst of all the Kenwood TL922 to the accommodation is always a huge challenge. Fortunately the RSPB Warden and his wife (Greg & Lisa) are very accommodating and helped us up the hill with the Quad and trailer for which we are always very grateful.

We got off to a good start and as always, no one sets their stations up until all antennas are fully up and we work together to achieve this. The 2 x G3TXQ Hexbeams (built by Ant MW0JZE) were the first up and then we worked on the Windom for 40 and 80M. Everything ran as a well oiled machine and shortly after lunch, all three antennas were up and we moved inside to set up the stations.

Around 15:30 local we had all three stations on air and were qrv from ‘IOTA EU-124 Ramsey Island’. Chris G1VDP started the Digi station on the Windom working 30M, Ant MW0JZE started up on 20 SSB and Tim M0URX worked 15m SSB. Pile ups were pretty fast, the World Flora Fauna reference helping to boost them as well 😉 .
Almost immediately the station used by Chris suffered a major problem when lights on the FT1000MP flashed and the dedicated PSU and TL922 also shutting down. Then worse to come was that dreaded smell – something was on fire. A subsequent check showed a hole on a transistor within the PSU and sadly totally  n-repairable for here at least. We were now down to two stations.

We worked very well and most stations had solid pile ups until late in the evening. Conditions weren’t brilliant and most of the traffic was from EU with Yuri A65CA from Asia and a few stations from North America. Tim had a good run into SA and also the Caribbean but again, conditions definitely down. We had over  1000 in the log and with the two stations we were happy at that.

The next morning we all woke early after a terrible storm kept most of us awake during the night and we got started. We worked early on 40M SSB and then 20M SSB using both Acoms and running 300/400 watts. Rob MW0RLJ and Charles M0OXO decided to take a boat to the mainland to take the faulty equipment back and to collect a spare rig to replace it. The guys continued to work well and on their return the qso count was 2500.

It became very obvious that conditions were giving us some Sporadic E propagation so they started pushing the higher bands (17, 12, 10 & 6) to give the Island IOTA to as many that required it. We had an amazing time, many stations commenting on how pleased they were to get EU-124 onto the new bands and in particular many ‘G’s that needed it as a new DXCC Band slot. Ant had been slogging away on 6M for a long time with a huge pile up and handed the Mic to Charles to continue. 6M continued to be very good and in total we finished with well over 396 qso’s & 29 Countries on one run on 6m, the better one maybe CN in Morrocco? Before we left we set ourselves  a target of 4000q’s for the whole trip and by midnight we closed on 4035 q’s, amazing and very pleased but that was to be short lived.

Charles got up the following morning (Day3) to find a problem. We had Voltage issues and it seemed the current was poor and not enough Ampage to run even the radio. We traced the problem to not  just one but both our generators had gone down, who would believe that? The black cloud descended over us and we spiralled into depression. We worked several theories for several hours and eventually decided to run the spare ‘Robin’ generator only and to run 100w only. We never gave up the fight and tried many theories were explored over a pot of Porridge (thanks Jane!) and we came up with a plan! Greg (RSPB Warden) kindly offered to allow us yet another Generator which could give us 6Kva so the mood lightened and again, we weighed up our options over a chat until 0930………

Time moved on and by 1130 we were on air again. Conditions were ok and by 1.00pm we were running well as we approached 1300 and the beginning of the World Flora Fauna’ GreenDay’ event, We used all bands from 40m thro 10m and as we were using 12 & 17m, we were not in a ‘contest’ but just an ‘event’! All continued OK with runs predominantly into EU but with the odd DX station thrown in the mix. When 1500 came the bands just died with barely a trace of anyone on 20 thro 10m. In a few hours this eased and we pushed on on 20m, 17 and 40M. 40M was running very well with Chris on the Mic running 100w from the FT890 but only 20 and 17 really had any decent propagation to EU. As the evening moved along we had another good run with many JA stations on 20M and a few down into OC with VK. We closed at 0030, filled the generator and after a few hours stargazing we slept………but not well!

We were kept awake most of the night with the predicted ‘bad weather’. Sadly it was worse than expected. Torrential rain was hammering at the windows of the barn and roof and the wind was tremendous. First light at 0400 saw 2 x Hexbeams both leaning to the side and getting buffeted by the very strong wind. There was little we could do, they were unusable in that state so after a chat (again over a bowl of porridge) we decided they needed to be taken down to prevent damage. We all donned out wet weather gear and got stuck in. Taking them down took 15 minutes for each Hexbeam with us all working on the same antenna at the same time before moving on to the other. It initially appeared that the fault was either the rotators not being up to the strain of the wind or the strain on the stub mast and clamps were too weak. Another thought for another day but they were all down and we left the Windom in place. We spent the remainder of the morning inside the barn, we dismantled all the equipment and packed it away just leaving the Elekraft K3 and the Windom to use later in the afternoon with a view to making the few required qso’s which would give us 6000 contacts.

The afternoon was poor but we worked through trying our best but pretty soon we ran out of time. We had the now (now traditional) ‘Party’ looming with invited guests joining us for supper and a few drinks. By the time 7pm came we had 11 people for supper including Greg & Lisa, Nia,Mike & Nicola. We must not forget the now famous Border Collie ‘Dewi’, now a celebrity after his debut on the BBC’s ‘Countryfile’! After a lovely meal provided by Jane, we all had a few drinks (some more than others!) and spirits 😉 were high. Some of us were in a bit of a tacking by 0030, and with an empty bottle of Famous Grouse, one of Romiel and several bottles of red wine, we turned in for the night. At that point it seemed extremely unlikely that we would wake in 6 hours feeling well but Charles did and fired up the generator for a quick blast. Another 60 stations were logged on 40m which brought us to a final total of 6024 q’s and the end of the 2011 trip. We got the gear down to the slip and from that point it took us 50 minutes to load the boat, do the crossing, unload at the Lifeboat Slip, carry the gear up to St. Justinians and to load the Van for the trip back to the farm.

It just leaves me with a few thoughts and thanks for the help we received this Year. Greg & Lisa Morgan (RSPB Wardens) were once again invaluable in help, planning, advice and in allowing us on the Island, two people who’s performance, committment and drive is outstanding and a major asset to the RSPB. ‘Thousand Island Expeditions’ once more gave their personal service to us and were extremely kind, a service recommended by us. Mike Chant and his crew aboard the ‘Gower Ranger’ also pulled out the stops with their prompt and personal service. Good luck to Nia Stephens (Assistant RSPB Warden) in her future career and not forgetting Mike and Nicola who give their time as RSPB volunteers. Finally a big thanks to all of you that worked us whilst on Ramsey Island. We were very pleased to give so many of you the new Band Slots, IOTA and WFF areas. I guess almost all stations on 6 meters would have been very pleased to get IO71hu in their logs so a good job all round. Some stations worked us on 7 band slots and many more with 6 contacts which was remarkable. Of course we wouldn’t be without the odd negative comments either. Some made good points and others were well, just pathetic but all in all, a great trip to Ramsey in 2011.

Thanks to everyone from the Strumblehead DX Group; Rob MW0RLJ, Charles M0OXO, Tim M0URX, Chris G1VDP, Ant MW0JZE and of course Jane (our Support Staff 😉 ) who kept us fed with over 120 meals, doing this with 2 small gas rings on a Baby Belling stove and little facilities was a great & welcomed achievement!

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

Inner Farne

The Farne Islands (also referred to less formally as ‘the Farnes’ are a group of islands off the coast of the Northumberland National Park in Northern England. There are between 15 to 20 or more islands depending on the state of the tide. They are scattered about 2.5–7.5 km (1 1/2–4 3/4 miles) distant from the mainland, divided into two groups, the Inner Group and the Outer Group.

The main islands in the Inner Group are Inner Farne (see photo right), Knoxes Reef and the East and West Wideopens (all joined together on very low tides) and (somewhat separated) the Megstone; the main islands in the Outer Group are Staple Island, the Brownsman, North and South Wamses, Big Harcar and the Longstone. The two groups are separated by Staple Sound. The highest point, on Inner Farne, is 19 metres (62 feet) above mean sea level.

The first visitor recorded by name was Saint Aidan followed by Saint Cuthbert. The latter was called to the bishopric of Lindisfarne but after two years he returned to the solitude of the Inner Farne and died there in 687, when Saint Aethelwold took up residence instead. Among other acts, Saint Cuthbert introduced special laws in 676 protecting the Eider ducks, and other seabirds nesting on the islands; these are thought to be the earliest bird protection laws anywhere in the world.

In the warmer months the Farnes, an important wildlife habitat, are much visited by boat trips from Seahouses. Local boats are licensed to land passengers on Inner Farne, Staple Island and the Longstone; landing on other islands is prohibited to protect the wildlife. At the right time of year many Puffins can be seen and these are very popular with visitors; on the Inner Farne, the Arctic Terns nest close to the path and will attack visitors who come too close (visitors are strongly advised to wear hats). Some of the islands also support a population of Rabbits, which were introduced as a source of meat and have since gone wild. The Rabbit and Puffin populations use the same burrows at different times, the Puffins being strong enough (with a vicious bite) to evict the Rabbits from the burrows during the nesting season. The islands also hold a notable colony of about 6,000 Grey Seals, with several hundred pups born every year in September-November. A total of 290 bird species have been recorded on the Farnes, including in about 1760, an example of the now extinct Great Auk. (Photo above – Ian M0BFO working 20M SSB station on Inner Farne).

The Farnes are resistant igneous Dolerite outcrops. These would originally have been connected to the mainland and surrounded by areas of less resistant limestone. Through a combination of erosion of the weaker surrounding rock, and sea level rise following the last ice age, the Farnes were left as islands. Because of the way the rock is fissured, Dolerite forms strong columns. This gives the islands their steep, in places vertical cliffs, and the sea around the islands is scattered with stacks up to 20 metres (66 feet) in height. Many of the small islands are bare rock, but the larger islands have a layer of clay subsoil and peat soil supporting vegetation.

Today the Farnes are one of the most important nature reserves in the British Isles. We work to monitor and safeguard the wildlife, while enabling visitors to enjoy a fascinating natural and historic experience.

This page contains brief details and photo’s of the trip to The Farnes and is from the prospective of the World Flora Fauna programme. For a more detailed account of the trip then return to the sidebar Menu, select ‘My Dxpeditions’ and then ‘Farne Islands. Alternativly check out the ‘Gallery’ and you will also find photos on there in the near future – Thanks

Thats it for now. I hope you enjoyed your trip onto The Farne Islands in the Northumberland National Park, please call again soon.

73 de Charles

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

The Yorkshire Dales (also known as The Dales) is the name given to an upland area, in Northern England.
The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Cumbria. Most of the area falls within the Yorkshire Dales District National Park, created in 1954, and now one of the twelve National parks of England and Wales.
The Dales is a collection of river valleys and the hills among them, rising from the Vale of York westwards to the hilltops of the main Pennine watershed (the British English meaning). In some places the area even extends westwards across the watershed, but most of the valleys drain eastwards to the Vale of York, into the Ouse and then the Humber.

The characteristic scenery of the Dales is green upland pastures separated by dry-stone walls and grazed by sheep and cattle. The dales themselves are ‘U’ and ‘V’ shaped valleys, which were enlarged and shaped by glaciers, mainly in the most recent, Devensian ice age. The underlying rock is principally Carboniferous limestone (which results in a number of areas of limestone pavement) in places interspersed with shale and sandstone and topped with millstone grit. However, to the north of the Dent fault, the hills are principally older Silurian and Ordovician rocks, which make up the Howgill Fells

Because of the limestone that runs throughout the Dales, there are extensive cave systems present across the area, making it one of the major areas for caving in the UK. Many of these are open to the public for tours and for caving.

Over 20,000 residents live and work in the park, which attracts over eight million visitors every year. The area has a large collection of activities for visitors. For example, many people come to the Dales for walking or exercise. The National Park is crossed by several long-distance routes including the Pennine Way, the Dales Way, the Coast to Coast Path and the latest national trail – the Pennine Bridleway.

Today the Yorkshire Dales National Park welcomes over eight million visitors every year, all of them attracted by its special qualities of natural beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage and by the recreational opportunities it offers.

Here are some tips on what you can do as an individual to make sure your visit doesn’t have a negative impact on the environment:-

From a gentle stroll or relaxing picnic to a long-distance walk or heart-pumping adventure, the countryside provides every opportunity for enjoyment and relaxation.

Freedom to walk on access land and public rights of way across the Yorkshire Dales National Park comes with responsibilities for all, many of which have been outlined in the new Countryside Code launched in 2004.
In particular, the Code reminds people visiting the countryside to:

Be safe – plan ahead and follow any signs
Leave gates and property as you find them
Protect plants and animals, and take your litter home Keep dogs under close control. Consider other people
If you follow the Countryside Code wherever you go, you’ll get the best enjoyment possible and you’ll help to protect the countryside now and for future generations.

Our location for this visit was care of the Tan Hill Inn, ‘Britains Highest Pub’. Here’s how we went on:- The Inn is the ‘Highest Pub in Great Britain’ and being 1732ft ASL it has a great take off for Amateur Radio for sure. But don’t be lead into a false sense of security as the Snow Mobile parked outside the pub is there for a reason! (see inset). Although it wasn’t snowing, it was lashing it down with rain and setting the Cushcraft A4S up was literally a real dampener on our spirits to say the least. Nevertheless we cracked on and were qrv by late tea time on the Friday and for the next 36 hours. Well, some of us were qrv, the other ‘die hard Amateurs’ found that the 10 second walk into the pub itself to sample the goods on offer were more of a temptation than they could handle, ‘Theakstones Real Ale’ not being the only thing on offer for some!

Band conditions were not at their best but we found 20M alone was open to the USA and SA until 0030 each night and then again wide open to the East from 0500 with lovely pile-ups into Russia and the Far East, all wanting this new and rare WFF reference number exceeded our estimation by far. We finished off with 2349 contacts in the log and  all were made on the HF Bands.

Check out these two links which show just how remote this area is. The first link tells the story, the second link shows some awesome video!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/8438314.stm

Thats it for now, hope you enjoyed your visit to GFF-020 in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Northern England?

Please join me again soon! The final image here shows ‘Gaping Gill’ Cave system in the National Park.

73 de Charles…

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

…Also the Clubstation of the Strumble Head DX & Contest Group!

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a National Park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline. It is one of three National Parks in Wales, the others being the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia.

The National Park has a varied landscape of rugged cliffs, sandy beaches, wooded estuaries and wild inland hills, covering a total area of 629 km² (240 square miles). It falls into four distinct sections. Running clockwise around the coast, these are the south Pembrokeshire coast, including Caldey Island, the Daugleddau estuary; the St Bride’s Bay coast, including the coastal islands; and the Preseli Hills. However, not all of the park is coastal, and there are even forests and marshes on the edges of the park. The National Park includes many sites and areas which are of national or international conservation significance in their own right, including 7 Special Areas of Conservation, a Marine Nature Reserve, 6 National Nature Reserves and 75 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The geology of the area is of particular interest with many good exposures both inland and along the coast, exhibiting a variety of rock types and structural features such as natural arches, stacks, rock folding and sea caves. In the north, the rocks of Carn Llidi, Pen Beri and Garn Fawr, together with the extensive moorland on Mynydd Carningli and Mynydd Preseli, give an exposed and mountainous feel to the landscape, cut through by the wooded valleys of the Gwaun and Nevern. In the west, the National Park is dominated by the broad sweep of St Bride’s Bay, bounded at its northern end by Ramsey Island, near St David’s peninsula, and at its southern end by Skomer. The southern coast is another contrast, with the limestone plateau and cliffs of the Castlemartin peninsula, the steep-sided wooded valleys inland from Amroth; the Bosherston lakes – now, like much of the coastal strip, in the care of the National Trust – and the tourist resorts of Tenby and Saundersfoot. Between the western and southern areas of the National Park lies the Milford Haven waterway, where the tranquil Daugleddau estuary feeds into one of the finest natural deep water harbours in the world. The Park is managed by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, which has around 130 staff and a committee of 18 members. The Authority’s purposes are to conserve the National Park, encourage the public to enjoy and understand it, and to foster the social and economic well-being of the communities within its boundaries. The Authority manages the entire length of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail.

Thats it for now, hope you enjoyed your visit to GFF-015, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in South West Wales, UK,  please join me again soon.

73 de Charles

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire.
Most of the area falls within the Peak District National Park, whose designation in 1951 made it the first national park in the British Isles. An area of great diversity, it is conventionally split into the northern Dark Peak, where most of the moorland is found and whose geology is gritstone, and the southern White Peak, where most of the population lives and where the geology is mainly limestone-based. Proximity to the major cities of Manchester and Sheffield and the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire coupled with easy access by road and rail, have all contributed to its popularity. With an estimated 22 million visitors per year, the Peak District is thought to be the second most-visited national park in the world (after the Mount Fuji National Park in Japan).

The Peak District forms the southern end of the Pennines and much of the area is uplands above 1,000 feet (300 m), with a high point at Crowden Head on Kinder Scout of 2,070 feet (630 m). Despite its name, the landscape lacks sharp peaks, being characterised by rounded hills and gritstone escarpments (the “edges”). The area is surrounded by major conurbations, including Huddersfield, Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and Stoke-on-Trent. Howden Dam is of solid masonry construction, and 117 ft (36 m) tall, 1080 ft long. and impounds 1.9 million gallons of water, from a catchment area of 5,155 acres (20.86 km2). During the Second World War the reservoir was used by pilots of the 617 Squadron for practising the low-level flights needed for Operation Chastise (commonly known as the “Dam Busters” raids), due to its similarity to the German dams. Occasional flypasts of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight are staged to commemorate this (As shown in Photo).The National Park covers 555 square miles (1,440 km2) of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and South and West Yorkshire, including the majority of the area commonly referred to as the Peak. Its northern limits lie along the A62 road between Marsden and Meltham, north west of Oldham, while its southern most point is on the A52 road on the outskirts of Ashbourne in Derbyshire. The Park boundaries were drawn to exclude large built-up areas and industrial sites from the park; in particular, the town of Buxton and the adjacent quarries are located at the end of the Peak Dale corridor, surrounded on three sides by the Park.

The town of Bakewell and numerous villages are, however, included within the boundaries, as is much of the (non-industrial) west of Sheffield. As of 2009, it is the fourth largest National Park in England and Wales. In the UK, the designation “National Park” means that there are planning restrictions to protect the area from inappropriate development and a Park Authority to look after it, but does not imply that the land is owned by the government, nor that it is uninhabited. Many of the rivers of the region are unpolluted and low enough in sediment levels to provide a home for the native white clawed crayfish. Ancient woodlands like these have much more wildlife value than plantations or other new woodland.  Rocks and scree slopes (formed by the effect of frost on the cliffs above) have developed specialised flora with mosses, lichens and flowers such as herb robert.  If movement stops, eventually screes become flower rich grasslands, or woodland, with a great variety of attractive flowers.  The flowers encourage a range of insects including butterflies and moths. Grasslands have been maintained by sheep grazing. The reduction in sheep grazing in some areas over the last 100 years has allowed scrub (shrubs such as hawthorn) and long grasses, to grow.The National Trust have cut back shrubs hiding the famous rock features and have re-introduced sheep grazing.
The cuckoo flower is common on the grassland.  This provides food for the caterpillars of the orange-tip butterfly.

Herons often feed in the quiet, northern stretches of the river. trout, dippers, grey wagtails, moorhens and water voles can be seen in, on and by the river. The boggiest areas are marked by the bright green sphagnum moss, together with cottongrass and heathers. Look carefully and you may spot the distinctive (yellow) flowers of the bog asphodel or the more common sundew, an insectivorous plant. The conspicuous white tufts of cottongrass gives rise to the name ‘Featherbed Moss’, used to identify many other areas in the National Park. Drier areas support more woody plants including heather, bilberry and crowberry.

As with much of the British countryside, the spectacular heather moorlands are not naturally like that – they are largely due to the ‘sport’ of red grouse shooting. Red grouse require young shoots of heather upon which to feed plus older plants in which to nest.

The typical appearance satisfies the needs of the red grouse and is created by controlled burning of the countryside. The red grouse is easily startled and its whirring chuckling flight also startles walkers usually when its not expected!

Thats it for now. I hope you enjoyed your trip into the Peak District National Park, please call again soon! (Photo : Ian M0IAA /p in GFF-014).

73 de Charles……

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

                    Gino – ON3SSB

”LET’S SAVE THE GREEN PLANET EARTH”

….also known as

‘Lindisfarne’

Beyond Bamburgh, the tidal estuary-like mud flats of Budle Bay, is Holy Island, still often known by its more ancient name of Lindisfarne. It is only accessible from the mainland at low tide by means of a causeway, which can be reached from the village of Beal.To the south of the more modern road-surface causeway, a series of stakes mark the old route across to the island called the `Pilgrims Way’ which was used in ancient times by visitors to the great Christian centre of Lindisfarne.

This page contains brief details and photo’s of the trip to Holy Island, Lindisfarne, Northumberland National Park (from both 2008 and 2009) and is from the prospective of the World Flora Fauna programme. For a more detailed account of the trips then return to the sidebar Menu, select ‘My Dxpeditions’ and then ‘Holy Island’. Alternativly check out the ‘Gallery’ and you will also find photos on there in the near future – Thanks.

Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve is where in Britain, both land and water meet. The Island can only be reached by vehicle or on foot via a 2.5 mile causeway, which is closed from 2 hours before high tide until 3 hours after at which times the Tide completely swamps the tarmacadam causeway. Tidal mudflats, sand dunes and marshes can be sean in abundance which combine to create a an area of outstanding beauty with many different plants and a home also to a food supply that attracts bird visitors from many of miles away. The NNR is managed by Natural England staff who work to ensure that the birds and plants of the area survive in harmony with the people who live in and those that visit the area in such large numbers daily. The site hosts up to 50,000 waterfowl and is very famous for the flock of light bellied brent geese as this is their only regular wintering place in Britain.  Other internationally important wildfowl and wintering birds that over-winter here include greylag and pink-footed goose, wigeon, grey plover and bar-tailed godwits who fly into the area every autumn.

In the dune ‘slacks’ (where the holes are mainly damp) rabbits perform a useful function in keeping the creeping willow well grazed and thus the eco-system works well here as also allowing the more rarer plants to establish. The site also has a wide range of marine habitats that are created by the varied geology of the rocky inter-tidal zone including, limestone and sandstone and volcanic rock.  This, combined with the interaction of the sea produces some unique habitats and species specific to the Northumberland.

The dune systems support a varying range of fauna including dark green fritillary, grayling and ringlet butterflies and rare moths. It has been discovered that most of the duneland of the Northumberland coast is relatively young – having only developed during the last 200 – 300 years, however here on Lindisfarne NNR, older dunes based on glacial sands and clays exist, where Holy Island has an extensive range of dunes and dune grassland. Here on the Northumberland coast, species to be found include burnet rose; seaside geranium; marsh helleborine; sea lavender; the county flower of Northumberland – the bloody cranesbill and the unique Lindisfarne helleborine.

The Northumberland Coast was designated as an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural beauty) in 1958 and covers over 39 miles of coast from the Coquet estuary in the south, to Berwick in the North.  The coastline is best known for it’s dramatic landscapes including long sandy beaches, rolling dunes, rocky cliffs and islands.  This thin stretch of the landscape is never wider than 2.5km and less than 50m in width at it’s narrowest point, however it contains a huge variety of natural, historical and scenic interest.  The primary statutory purpose of the AONB is to enhance and conserve the natural beauty of the landscape.

As well as the AONB the area was rewarded also as a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). SSSIs are the country’s very best wildlife and geological sites. They include some of our Country’s most spectacular and beautiful habitats. As well as the extensive inter-tidal sand and mudflats it also supports internationally important wintering populations of waders and wildfowl.

I visit the island now at least once each Year and its great to be able to operate from there amongst the Flora Fauna. Even during the daytime despite the hundreds of visitors, the area still remains very quiet and solitude found easily. In the evening time when the public and Ice Cream seller have left, with only the Islanders and the radio team are left, then it beats a holiday on the Continent for sure – England at its best!

(tnx to Richard Constantine G3UGF for some of the images)

Thats it for now, hope you enjoyed your visit to GFF-013 & GFF-172,

Holy Island (Lindisfarne) in the Northumberland National Park, both located in Northern England?

Please join me again soon,

73 de Charles…

Hi to all and thanks for viewing my new and improved website. It’s taken a lot of work to prepare this and having been nagged over the last few years to produce a ‘proper website’ then I hope this meets your requirements! I must say a big thanks to the guys for the help: Oliver MW0JRX, Tim M0URX and Anthony MW0JZE who have worked tirelessly to make this event a reality.

For those of you visiting my site for the first time, please check out the Menu to the left and also the sub-menu’s within the main categories for loads of stuff mainly Amateur Radio orientated but not always! About me personally – well i am approaching the ‘big 50’ pretty soon and i am already retired, somewhat earlier than anticipated. I served 22 years as a South Yorkshire Police Officer before finishing through a serious back injury. I spend my time at home now enjoying this hobby to the max (and more according to my Wife!) and loving every minute. Within the hobby I am very active on the HF Bands and within my intrests are various programmes i enjoy. I am a representative for WFF World Flora Fauna and the founder member of the ‘UK & Ireland Flora Fauna‘ Group. This is very interesting to me and allows me to become portable now and again from Nature Reserves and National Parks within the UK as an ‘activator’. I also enjoy the ‘chase’ too and seem to be doing OK with several of the Awards available claimed, the UK & Ireland Flora Fauna (GFF) Award being the latest.I also enjoy the activities of the DCI (Italian Castles Award), Lighthouse chasing and also IOTA which is my main passion. I enjoy the odd Contest too working under various groups such as the SCC (Strictly Contest Club), SRT (Strange Radio Team), the OCC (OXO Contest Club) and of course as mentioned above MC0SHL (Strumble Head Contest & DX Group). I find that being a Member of several teams allows diversity and when one group doesn’t offer the interests of one particular goal then another more than likely will! A lot more information about these items can be find if you have a browse through the new site which i hope you find of interest.

Also keeping me busy at home these days is being the UK (anywhere really!) representative for Gennady at ‘UX5UO Qsl Card Printing’. Again this is another topic that you will find on the sidebar Menu of the new website. If you are looking for competitive Qsl Card prices feel free to contact me for samples without any obligation whatsoever.

This new site will offer many of the old pages in a newer format plus a lot of new stuff such as a ‘Log Search’ facility (for any of the Call signs I have used) and also a ‘QSL Request Form’ which should simplify matters rather than receiving an odd email usually without all relevant details. Also included will the DXpedition pages showing my Island activities around the UK with Ramsey Island, Wales being the most recent trip undertaken

The ‘Log Search’ facility that I touched on earlier will also be an added bonus on this site. Eventually I will have a full list of the call signs I use (or have used in the past) from various events and activities and all will be uploaded to Log Search. Once a call sign is entered it will search each and every Log within the system and give an immediate readout of all the stations you have worked with all the relevant band and mode data, a very useful tool for you for sure. It will also include logs for all the stations I manage too. This however will only be as up to date as the frequency that the logs have been sent to me by the managed stations.

Anyway there we go, nothing more to be said except again a big thanks to the lads at MC0SHL for their efforts and of course you, for taking the time to call in and view the new site. Many of the features listed may not immediately show much as it will take several months to get up to date so please be patient and allow a bit extra time for me to work on the site.

I hope everything will meet your approval so please don’t be shy and remember, sign the Guestbook, your comments are very much appreciated and welcome!

Thanks and kindest regards,

Charles MØOXO