Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Mynydd Hiraethog

31.12.13  Gogarth (SH 767 833)

The summit area of Gogarth (SH 767 833)

Gogarth or the Great Orme in English, is an impressive chunk of land that buts out from the north Wales coast and is a prominent landmark for miles around.  With a one-way road encircling it and access to the summit area via two roads it can be ascended very easily and I’m afraid to say this is the way we opted for.  

As an adventurous few souls were walking rapidly around the road, taking their mornings exercise before the forecast of the late afternoons deluge ushered forth, we sneaked via motor vehicle up to the high car park and stumbled out in glorious sunshine, albeit a bit breezy in places and wandered over a bit of grass to bag the summit.  This consists of a small outcrop of rock next to the base of the trig.

The Trimble gathering data on the high point of Gogarth

Winter sunshine radiated down on us as the higher mountains were bathed in silhouetted outline.  All that was needed was a candyfloss and toffee apple to make the occasion perfect!  Tis a good vantage point though and I peered out to the north trying to convince myself that the slither of something between sea and sky was the Isle of Man.  I couldn’t convince my two colleagues who dismissed the sighting as nonsense and indicated that the Isle would be more over there, indicating somewhere toward the north-east.

The Trimble found a convenient perch and nestled in to the summit rock for seven minutes of data collection aligned with the very highest bit of natural rock (there’s a large rock plinthed panoramic viewfinder that is higher).

Bryn and Alun near the summit of Gogarth.  The large flat rock to the left of the trig pillar is the plinth with the panoramic viewfinder

This is the second Marilyn the Trimble has surveyed, with the first being Moel y Golfa (SJ 290 125).  The hill is also listed as a HuMP and a Welsh 200m P30.  The triangulation pillar’s flush bracken is given a height of 207.172m in the OS Trig Database and when aligned with the highest rock it is of similar height with the flush bracken just a little higher.

The top of the flush bracket is a little higher than the natural high point, which is the knobbly bit of rock just to the left of the trig pillar.

Survey Result:

Gogarth (significant name change)

Summit Height:  207.1m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 76749 83334 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  5.4m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 82244 78704 (LIDAR)

Drop:  201.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  97.41% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the 2nd visit to Gogarth

For further details please consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}