Not for the first time, I’ve taken the bike hillwalking.
Previously HERE I pushed Polly to the top of Corlic (or Corlick, the OS map says). Five years ago!!!
I checked to see if any SOTA alerts for the day were posted, I saw one for a hill on the Isle of Mull. I thought ‘where could I work it?’.
Corlic(k)…..
I’d treated myself to a bike pannier rack which fits on the seat post, I quickly fitted it and checked over everything, I did this on a spur of the moment and I ran about looking for my antenna, portable mast etc. I packed the pannier bag, a power pack to charge my phone en route. This was an late off the wall decision. I’d 90 mins to the alerted time of 11.30. I left and dropped down on to NCN 75 where it would take me into Greenock, along some back roads and then I joined Old Largs Rd out of Greenock and the constant climb until my destination, one lower part has sections of around 20% which test the legs but as I passed a farm en-route and saw an OS NBM, I stopped to take a photo. By this time it was hot and I was glad of the buff below my helmet. It was a steady climb to where I’d turn left up the narrow single track road to the base of the hill.
Trig Point, Polly and 2m Beam
Passing a radio mast, the tarmac ends and I ‘bounced’ slowly down a rough track and made my way to the base of the hill. When you approach, you can see the faint track running up the hill to the top. As the rough track turns north, there is a stile to the right of you, so I lifted the bike over a wire fence then it was a push up the rest of the way. I was glad of a steady cooling breeze from the south west. I arrived at a familiar summit.
Polly on the summit
I parked the bike at the trig point and got busy setting up the portable pole and fitting the delta quad beam. I had the other handie in my handlebar bag and heard Robin PKT. I quickly called him and made the 2 M contact to Mull, he was on Beinn Chreagach, a 377 metre high Marilyn in the Borlass area of the island. A few higher hills in the Cowal area between us but no problem. I worked him later on the 4 m band.
View N
I checked APRS and saw another possible contact heading up Ben More on the same Island, I’d been on the same hill in 2011 HERE. I just sat in the sun and enjoyed the view, the panorama
Not long after, I saw they had reached the summit so I answered their call and worked Caroline ZCB. Time to head home, they way I’d came? I decided to head back by the rough forest track at Garshangan before enjoying a run downhill to join NCN75 between Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow, I was two miles from home and a welcome cuppa.
Plenty of WW2 activity took place in these hills,
War Department Boundary Marker
Cairn marker
Cycle profile
Corlic run
aching legs and CQ 