26.06.15 Pt. 417.6m (SJ
214 396) and Craig y Dduallt (SJ 232 400)
Craig y Dduallt (SJ 232 400) |
The hills of the eastern
Berwyn sweep down abruptly to the flatlands of the Shropshire plain, these
eastern hills are high pasture with a feeling of openness and tranquillity; it
was these hills that Mark had suggested for our latest evening walk.
We met in Llangollen and
quickly moved to a pub/restaurant overlooking the river as it flowed through
the town. A mother duck and her
ducklings were quaintly paddling in adjacent rock pools as the sun cast down
from the western sky. A heron flapped
down to a small island in the river and proceeded to settle, extending its
wings occasionally.
The pub was busy with
early Friday evening activity; many people were eating, including
ourselves. It’s one of the delights of
these evening walks to take in a good meal before or after the walk, and with
daylight hours now extending to around 10.00pm it meant that we could take in a
meal before venturing up to the hills.
Mark relaxing in the sunshine waiting for his nosh |
Mmmmmmmm yummy, yummy - nosh time |
Rrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmm this was stunningly yummy |
I had a curry to start
followed by a rather scrumptious vanilla cheesecake with rhubarb and ice cream
with a delicate flavouring of ginger, it was all yummy, but the cheesecake was
to die for.
Once heartily fed we set
our sights on the hills, we planned to visit two and survey each bylchau and
summit, one is listed in Y Pedwarau as having 30m of drop, whilst the other has
a small uppermost 400m ring contour at its summit, so there was a possibility
of losing two Pedwarau today.
We headed out of
Llangollen on a minor road as it slowly gained height before leaving it to join
the Allt y Badi, this was the old road that crossed the hills, now it is beautifully enclosed and rock strewn and gives a glimpse into times gone past.
Walking up the Allt y Badi |
The Allt y Badi was the old road crossing the hills to the south of Llangollen |
As the Allt y Badi gained
height it became more enclosed with a canopy of summer growth shielding the
evening sun. Eventually the steepness
and enclosed nature of the old road gave way to the paved section of a minor
road next to a farm house. This minor
road led us to the first bwlch that needed surveying.
As Mark waited patiently
on the lane I scampered into a field, over a fence and started assessing the
lay of the land for Trimble placement.
During my scampering a tractor had appeared chugging up the lane and I
was now in full view to its occupant, thankfully he was immersed in
conversation on his mobile phone and didn’t seem to see me.
As the Trimble gathered
its data the evening colour started ebbing down to the illuminated hour when
the richness of colour wants to scream out as it pierces the land. Once five minutes of data were collected I
quickly packed the Trimble away and scampered back to rejoin Mark on the lane.
Gathering data at the first bwlch |
Hiding in the grass |
After surveying the
bwlch we walked directly east following the lane to a gate which gave access to
the summit of our first hill, this hill is listed under the point (Pt.)
notation in Y Pedwarau as no appropriate name could be found for it when the 1st
edition was being compiled. We have now
found an appropriate name for the hill and this will appear in the 2nd
edition when it is published by Europeaklist which is planned for 2016.
By the time we were
walking up the field to the high point of the hill the evening colour illuminated
the greens of field, with delicate evening cloud out to the west. A breeze blew which swayed the long grass in
adjacent fields and gave the impression of movement across the land.
Heading to the summit of the first hill |
The high point of the
hill proved to be a small mound close to a rusted iron fence, once Trimbled we
walked back to the lane. There is
another potential high point to this hill which is situated further east, we
judged this to be lower and as it was situated in the middle of an arable crop
we thought it unwise to Trimble it tonight.
Gathering data at the summit of Pt. 417.6m |
As we continued on the
lane walking eastward toward the bwlch of our second hill I noticed a sundog in
the sky casting its radiance out away from the sun. These halos are formed when light interacts
with ice crystals in the atmosphere and can be best seem when the sun is close
to the horizon.
The sundog remained in view as we walked toward Craig y Dduallt |
Our last view of the sundog |
I had noted two possible
positions for the next bwlch, we decided to survey this after visiting its
accompanying summit, and this would also give us an opportunity to assess the
lay of land at the bwlch from two directions.
Approaching the bwlch of Craig y Dduallt with the summit of the hill just beyond the masts |
The two masts near the
summit of Craig y Dduallt had been prominent on our easterly horizon during
much of the walk and it was now time to head upto them. The Ordnance Survey map gives the summit area
of this hill as having two small 400m uppermost contour rings, with the two
masts between them. I had previously
visited this hill in July 2003 and noted that the easterly, smaller of the two
ring contours was the obvious higher point and the summit of the hill. For completeness we planned on surveying the
two, but once at the top of the easterly one we dismissed the westerly one as
obviously lower.
Gathering data from the summit of Craig y Dduallt |
By now dusk had set and
the sun had sunk, with the first glimpse of pinkness in the sky appearing. Once the summit of Craig y Dduallt had been
Trimbled we walked back down the lane to the bwlch, Mark waited beside a gate
whilst I headed into the field where the bwlch lay. Within a few minutes I had estimated where the
critical bwlch was positioned and Mark then directed me from his vantage point
to the place where I positioned for Trimble.
Gathering data from the bwlch of Craig y Dduallt |
It was now dusk and the
Trimble was submerged in long grass in a field, thankfully my route through the
grass was evident and I retraced my footsteps back to the Trimble once it had
gathered five minutes of data. All that
remained was to join the lane downward toward the lights of Llangollen. We arrived back at Mark’s car at 10.45pm, it
had been another excellent evening’s walk.
Survey Result:
Pt. 417.6m
Summit Height: 417.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 21464 39666 (summit relocation confirmed)
Bwlch Height: 385.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 20387 39418
Drop: 31.9m (Pedwar status confirmed)
Dominance: 7.63%
Dominance: 7.63%
Craig y Dduallt
Summit Height: 400.3m (converted to OSGM15) (Pedwar status confirmed)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 23280 40062
Bwlch Height: 364.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 22554 39745
Drop: 35.5m (Pedwar status confirmed)
Dominance: 8.87%
Dominance: 8.87%
For further details please
consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}
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