Shipping Forecast Map linked from Wikipedia, please click on the map for full details.
Location
If you mention "Lundy" most peoples thoughts extend to the shipping forecast. The sea area covered by "Lundy" in the shipping forecast represents a triangular expanse of ocean bounded by Lands End, Rosslare in Eire and Fishguard on the Welsh coast.
Lundy Island, which gives its name to that expanse of ocean is, in fact, a granite outcrop, three and a half miles long and half a mile wide some 12 miles off the coast of North Devon, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bristol Channel with nothing between it and America. In the hubbub of the modern world it is a place apart, peaceful and unspoilt.
In the map above, Lundy is indicated by the red marker. The MS Oldenburg usually departs from Bideford or Ilfracombe and the Heliport which is used for Winter trips to the island is at Hartland Point, these places are indicated by the blue markers.
From a radio perspective Lundy is of considerable interest. Its location makes it more or less unaffected by much of the QRM (man made interference) that plagues our individual day to day activities. Also the use of a special event callsign gives us greater value when calling on the bands. However, one of the greatest assets is the location itself. Lundy is situated at the intersection of 4 IARU Locator Squares: IO71pe, IO71qe, IO71pd and IO71qd. We usually operate from IO71qd although occasional forays to the top of the 'Old Light' allow us to operate from IO71pe.
The markers in the map above represent:
- Government House
- Landing Jetty (NATS/ALLRN A5619)
- Trinity House North Light (NATS/ALLRN A5616)
- The Old Light (NATS/ALLRN A5617 – Not Operational)
- Trinity House South Light (NATS/ALLRN A5618)
Notes:
- NATS = Worked all Britain (WAB) Navigational Aid to Shipping
- ALLRN = Admiralty List of Lights Reference Number
Clicking on each “pin” will display a label naming the represented location.
Lundy is part of the IOTA Group EU120 (English Coastal Islands) which includes: Coquet, Hilbre Islands, Holy (aka Lindisfarne), Isle of Wight, Looe, Lundy, Steep Holm and The Brisons.
For WAB (Worked all Britain) Lundy is the only piece of land to be situated in SS14 England making it quite valuable for those chasing this particular square.
More or less since 1990 a group from SBARC has travelled to Lundy Island and established an Amateur Radio Station for a week. We take over equipment to operate on air from Top Band to 70cm. Throughout our stay we experiment with a variety of antenna arrangements, we have had very good results operating with simple long wires.
During our our stay we operate the special event station GB2BLE (Bristol Lundy Expedition). These pages detail some of our exploits and is dedicated to those who have tirelessly organised the occasion over the years. More recently we even have video footage of our time.
GB2BLE Through the Ages
| Year | Dates | Accommodation | The Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | No Lundy DXpedition | ||
| 2021 | COVID-19 Pandemic – No visitation on Lundy | ||
| 2020 | COVID-19 Pandemic – No visitation on Lundy | ||
| 2019 | No Lundy DXpedition | ||
| 2018 | No Lundy DXpedition, Clytha Castle Activation although Andy G7KNA took Ken (now M7MYU) to the island and operated a bit of radio using an FT817 and SOTABeams Linked Dipole | ||
| 2017 | No Lundy DXpedition, Clytha Castle Activation | ||
| 2016 | 25 June – 2 July | Government House | Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Steve G0UQT, Lisa SWL, Henryk M0HTB |
| 2015 | No Operation | ||
| 2014 | 14 June – 21 June | Government House | Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Mike G0MEM, Steve G0UQT, Henryk M0HTB |
| 2013 | 14 Sept – 21 Sept | Government House | Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Steve G0UQT, Kirsty SWL, Andy G7KNA |
| 2012 | 14 July – 21 July | Government House | Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Steve G0UQT, Andy G7KNA, Henryk M0HTB |
| 2011 | 3 Sept – 10 Sept | Government House | Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Steve G0UQT, Andy G7KNA |
| 2010 | 11 Sept – 18 Sept | Government House Old House North |
Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Mike G0MEM, Steve G0UQT, Norman G4NFS, Andy G7KNA |
| 2009 | 18 July – 25 July | Government House Old House South |
Peter G0DRX, Matt G0ECM, Julia SWL, Mike G0MEM, Steve G0UQT, Andy G7KNA, Tom M3TWJ |
| 2008 | |||
| 2007 | |||
| 2006 | |||
| 2005 | |||
| 2004 | Government House | ||
| 2003 | Government House Old House South |
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| 2002 | Government House | ||
| 2001 | Government House Brambles West |
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| 2000 | Government House | ||
| 1999 | Government House Old House South |
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| 1998 | Old House South Blue Bungalow |
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| 1997 | Government House | ||
| 1996 | Government House | ||
| 1995 | The Barn | ||
| 1994 | The Quarters | ||
| 1993 | |||
| 1992 | |||
| 1991 | The Quarters | ||
| 1990 | The Barn | ||
Please see the subsidiary pages for more information on each year