Something mysterious in Snowdonia
There were lots of chaps (and I presume chapesses) having a great time in Robinsons various in Snowdonia today. We got airborne from Valley to a walker with a broken ankle/leg at the back of Snowdon and made a blind call on 121.5 to alert them to our presence. As a precaution we asked the ARCC to establish a TDA around the area and this was broadcast on 121.5 also. After we had landed back at Valley we talked to someone from the mountain flying party who asked what mysterious thing was happening at Snowdon. He also said that probably only one of the instructors was sharp enough to listen out on 121.5 - one out of 5 or 6!
A Temporary Danger Area is an airspace control measure used to protect situations from unwanted aerial activity and they are almost always established for overland SAROPs.
None of the helis in the area were any problem and I hope they enjoyed their flying (and probably a few beers afterwards), but I was surprised at the lack of understanding of TDAs and lack of monitoring of an emergency frequency. Please tell me this is not normal amongst GA pilots.