29.09.15
Cefn Clawdd (SO 043 403), Pt. 411.9m (SO 054 405), Pt. 415.5m (SO 064 408),
Cefn Llwydallt (SO 074 409) Pentre Moel Tump (SO 074 418)
Cefn Llwydallt (SO 074 409) |
Investigating the hills
of the Epynt is proving a very enjoyable experience, where leg sapping tussock
grass predominates on this ranges northerly neighbour of the Elenydd, the Epynt
has extended and open moorland ridges that are easy to the eye and leg. However, it is only there southern and
eastern lands that are accessible all year round, as their northern lands are
out of bounds for much of the year due to the military artillery firing range.
Today I wanted to visit
a number of hills that included a 400m Sub-Pedwar listed with 29m of drop which desperately
needed a survey, I also hoped to meet at least one farmer on my travels as
three of the five hills I planned on visiting has no name given them on current
Ordnance Survey maps, and perhaps local knowledge may unearth a name or three.
I parked beside
Cilian-fawr, a farm house next to a narrow lane that meanders for miles above
the beautiful Afon Gwy (River Wye). This
farm is positioned directly under what was planned to be my last hill of the
day, and as the rest of the hills are laid on a ridge I needed to walk out to
them to then walk back.
I found an old green and
muddy track between high hedgerows that led toward a footpath that in time
would gain height toward the hills. This
old green track had the smell of death about it and I soon found the unpleasant
debris of sheep carcasses thrown on a pile of festering and unsavoury
death. Skeletons were on the ground
beside the pile and a belly-up dead sheep dog on top of the pile. However unsavoury and unnecessary this pile
of death was the most hauntingly pitiful site was a sheep that was lying beside
the pile of corpses and whose head was being occasionally lifted up, the poor
thing was still alive. I stood and
watched for a few seconds and could not bear to witness the scene any longer
and turned and walked away.
The footpath took me
across a couple of fields and onto a green track that kept to the northern side
of the ridge crest, this, in time, would take me all the way to my first hill
of the day; Cefn Clawdd.
To be on this green
track in the morning’s sunshine with a slight chill early autumnal breeze was
blissful, solitude pervaded and the world seemed at ease with itself. As I contoured around the northern part of
the 400m Sub-Pedwar I looked down on its connecting bwlch and then assessed it
quickly as I continued walking toward the first summit of the day.
A vehicle track on the
moor led me up toward the summit of Cefn Clawdd, as I gained height I heard the
distinctive sound of a quad bike in the distance that seemed to be getting
nearer, I hoped that it was coming my way and that I’d have the opportunity of
talking with a local farmer.
As the quad bike
appeared I briskly walked back down the hill and waved toward the driver, three
sheep were in front seemingly being driven down the hill with two sheep dogs
present, one scampering behind the sheep, the other happily bouncing along on
the back of the quad bike. Within a
couple of minutes I was talking with Bernard Davies who has lived in these
parts all of his life, we stopped and chatted for ten minutes or so with
Bernard giving me names for two of the three hills unnamed on the map hills. This information has been sent to Aled, who
will evaluate it and if accepted, it will appear in the 2nd edition
of Y Pedwarau which is due for publication by Europeaklist in 2016.
Bernard Davies on his quad bike |
After I waved goodbye to
Bernard I continued to the summit of Cefn Clawdd, found what I judged to be its
high point and set the Trimble up on the top of my rucksack and gathered five
minutes of data. By now the sun had
burnt off the majority of early morning mist but a lingering high cloud still
obscured the sun on occasion.
Gathering data at the summit of Cefn Clawdd |
Leaving the summit of
Cefn Clawdd I headed down to the connecting bwlch which is the critical point
for the drop of the 400m Sub-Pedwar, this bwlch was not difficult to pinpoint and
the Trimble was soon gathering its customary five minutes of data.
Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Pt. 411.9m, with Cefn Clawdd in the background |
Pt. 411.9m (SO 054 405) |
After packing the
equipment away I walked up an open part of hillside and then delved into the
browned bracken toward this hill’s summit.
This highpoint soon had the Trimble on top of my rucksack and off it
went again; beeping away as each one second epoch timed data point was
gathered. After approximately 300 data
points were stored I pressed ‘Done’ and packed it away.
Gathering data at the summit of the 400m Sub-Pedwar |
Continuing along the
ridge the next point to survey was a bwlch which looked relatively flat in the
valley to valley direction and which had a pool in the centre of it. This watery lagoon is not indicated on
current 1:25,000 OS maps.
Gathering data at the critical bwlch for Pt. 415.5m (SO 064 408) |
Beyond the bwlch the
next hill has a trig pillar positioned on its summit, this is another hill that
is unnamed on current Ordnance Survey maps but which was named as Waun Gynllwch
in the 400m P30 list published on the RHB file database and then on Geoff
Crowder’s v-g.me website. As this data
was duplicated for this part of Mark Jackson’s Tump listing the hill not
surprisingly also appears under this name in this list. However, Waun Gynllwch strictly applies to
marshy land to the north of this hill’s summit and not to the name of the
hill. We’ll have to wait and see what
Aled’s evaluation of the locally known name is, and whether it makes it into
the 2nd edition of Y Pedwarau.
Once the summit of this
hill had been Trimbled I walked along its north-easterly grassy ridge and
followed a sheep track down to a narrow road that crosses the hills and comes
close to turning the critical bwlch of my next hill; Cefn Llwydallt, into
tarmac. Thankfully the road just misses
this critical bwlch and within a few minutes the Trimble was set up gathering
data on it. Once stored, it was switched
off and I followed a path up to the top of the next hill.
Gathering data beside the trig pillar at the summit of Pt. 415.5m (SO 064 408) |
Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Cefn Llwydallt |
The afternoon was
proving lovely and warm, not so much to be uncomfortable, but enough to enjoy
and bask in, and as I reached the top of Cefn Llwydallt I proceeded to take
four data sets, all from individual high points, the second is where the summit
is positioned but I thought why not gather data when I’m up here.
Gathering data at the summit of Cefn Llwydallt |
After the fourth data
set was complete and the Trimble safely packed away I followed a gravelled
track back down toward the bwlch and joined a track which led me down toward
the last hill of the day, which is the one positioned above Cilian-fawr, and
where I had parked my car.
Pentre Moel Tump (SO 074 418) |
Maps indicate that the
critical bwlch for this hill is placed in the centre of the narrow lane that
skirts the hill’s western flank. This
lane has high hedgerows either side of it, so I spent a pleasant few minutes in
the fields either side of the lane gathering two data sets, one from each.
Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Pentre Moel Tump (SO 074 418) |
Only one hill remained
and it looked a delight with relatively steep grassed sides leading up to a
rounded and pronounced summit. I used a
series of gates to get to its top across a number of fields, being careful on
my way not to disturb a grazing herd of cows.
Once at the summit another Trimble data set was gathered and then for my
last survey of the day I visited its lower and north-easterly summit.
Gathering data at the summit of Pentre Moel Tump (SO 074 418) |
Once this second summit
had been Trimbled I headed down to Cilian-fawr where Lyn Jones was training a
sheep dog in the adjacent field. We
chatted for quite some time about the route and hills I’d visited and about the
names of these hills, with many of the names Lyn gave me matching those that
Bernard had given me earlier in the day.
It’s always good to get hill names confirmed from a second source and
especially so when the two people work land on opposing sides of the hill. Importantly Lyn also told me that the last hill I had visited is known locally as Pentre Moel Tump, with Pentre-moel being a farm positioned to the east south-east of the hill.
Survey Result:
Cefn Clawdd
Summit Height: 434.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 04324 40381
Drop: c 46m
Dominance: 10.59%
Dominance: 10.59%
Pt. 411.9m
Summit Height: 411.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 05488 40538
Bwlch Height: 384.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 04980 40516
Drop: 27.4m (400m Sub-Pedwar status confirmed)
Dominance: 6.66%
Dominance: 6.66%
Pt. 415.5m
Summit Height: 415.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 06443 40804
Bwlch Height: 368.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 05944 40803
Drop: 46.6m
Dominance: 11.21%
Dominance: 11.21%
Cefn Llwydallt
Summit Height: 380.7m (converted to OSGM15) (significant height revision)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 07422 40950
Bwlch Height: 339.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 07211 41034
Drop: 41.0m
Dominance: 10.77%
Dominance: 10.77%
Pentre Moel Tump (significant name change)
Summit Height: 360.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 07445 41820
Bwlch Height: 308.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 07112 41686
Drop: 51.5m
Dominance: 14.30%
Dominance: 14.30%
For further details please
consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}
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