Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Moel Hebog

28.02.15  Ynys Pen Syflog (SH 561 395)

Hidden by trees - Ynys Pen Syflog (SH 561 395)

After visiting Ynys Galch (SH 567 393) we jumped in Aled’s van and drove north-west down a paved road that is marked as a track on Ordnance Survey maps.  To our right was one of the many drainage ditches that almost encircle Porthmadog, in front of us was a wooded small hillock and to our left was a compound with part of it being made up of an old farm.  The old farm is named Pensyflog on current maps, and it gives its name to the island we hoped to visit.  I say ‘hoped’ as it has a wire fence encircling it and does not seem to possess a right of access.  It is also in view of the buildings around the old farm which have a direct line of sight to the wood at its top.  However, we only wanted to make a quick visit and as Aled drove past the small island trying to find a parking place we noticed that part of the wire fence was missing, this proved an ideal access point.

As Aled had visited this island he parked back on the paved track whilst I scampered up to the top, this consists of rock which is overshadowed by a number of trees.  After I positioned the Trimble on the high point facing the only significant gap where grey sky emerged out of the branches I made my way down on the northerly side of the outcrop of island, out of view of the buildings around the old farm, and waited, and waited, and then waited a bit more.  Twenty minutes later I pressed ‘Log’ and scampered back down to my waiting spot.

The view of the summit from my waiting spot

This island is rather lovely as it consists of a substantial rock shaped in an appealing gradient with copious amounts of moss gathered on its seldom trodden ground, with a number of mature trees adding complex shape to its surroundings.

Gathering data at the summit of Ynys Pen Syflog

Once the necessary data had been gathered I packed the Trimble away and re-joined Aled who had waited patiently in his van, and off we sped heading toward the last survey of the day.

Survey Result:

Ynys Pen Syflog

Summit Height:  12.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 56156 39592

Drop:  10.0m

Dominance:  77.69%

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