This year I didn’t have a lot of time to choose a site; I sat scouring the map a few times before stumbling on Adam Hill, very appropriate I thought as my son is called Adam.

The Wednesday before, I went in the evening to look around the site but struggled to get a good look in the dark, I then returned on Saturday afternoon to find very little cover to hide, but it was too late to look elsewhere, so I decided to get the highest point for a strong signal.

I found that if the site was entered from the southeast then it was only a ten-minute stroll to the site.  My aerial was hung between 2 black lighting stands from my disco equipment, which were placed against a stonewall along a very poorly marked and overgrown path; I hid against the base of one of them with Steph, who is the newest member of my hunting team.  The reeds were about 2-3 feet high just enough to hide behind when we lay down.

During the first transmission I had a phone call saying that I wasn’t heard at the start (again? - something wrong with the TX I expect).  We were approached by the farmer who took a keen interest as to what DFing was all about.

Transmitting at regular intervals after 11.30am we were wondering if anyone would find us when we heard John Heath wondering down the path towards us, he had made his way from the east of the map, red-faced, stating that it had taken him half an hour to walk in.

Donna joined us a short time later with the camera and hid on a small hill 50 yards away in front of us.  Sometime later, about 12.10pm Chris Heys wondered into the field we were in, not taking the untrodden path that we were on.  He stopped about 15 yards from us and crouched down just out of sight, didn’t see the aerial, which I thought, was very obvious, waiting for the 12.15pm transmission.  When I turned the set on he stood up straight, spun round on the spot a couple of times, then walked away in the opposite direction towards where Donna was hiding then disappeared over the hill.

Donna was waving at us and we waved back laughing at what we had just witnessed, Donna was in site of Chris but he didn’t realise what we were up to.  He eventually made his way towards us and made his way in.

Dave Chip where are you???  He was beating his way through the trees to the east of the map, wrong again, oops.  Well done Roger for another committed try, makes a difference when you aren’t out with Chris Plummer, who won’t be returning to DFing for a couple of years due to work commitments.

The pub was the Jolly Crofters at the bottom of the hill, food was nice and hot but the veg. was out of a tin and the food was ready frozen, not the best but it filled our bellies.

How I didn't do it, by Dave Chippendale:

"I'm knackered.  Absolutely totally knackered.  I went there, and then over there, and then we drove to there and then I walked all the way to there and over to there and this way and that way and I'm just so knackered..."

How I didn't do it, by Roger Thawley:

"I was just miles away so I went to the pub!"