Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Moel y Gamelin

23.01.16  Bryn Gop (SJ 086 801)

Bryn Gop (SJ 086 801)

Bryn Gop is positioned just to the north of the small community of Trelawnyd in the north-eastern part of Wales.  The hill is unremarkable in height and prominence, but its summit cone is remarkable, as it forms the second largest Neolithic mound in Britain, only second to Silbury Hill in Wiltshire.

This man made structure is rounded in shape and measures an approximate 100 metres x 68 metres at its base and rises to 12m high.  The structure is grassed over but is built of mainly stone and blocks of local limestone.  The site was partially excavated by Boyd Dawkins in 1886-7, when a shaft was dug from the top to ground level.

The hill on which The Gop stands is now predominated by a conifer plantation on its northern slopes, with its southern slopes looking down on the near A5151 as it passes between Dyserth to the west and Trelawnyd at its base.

This hill formed part of an afternoon in the company of Aled, taking in three small hills over three walks.  We approached from the upper part of Trelawnyd where parking can easily be found.

A footpath leaves the upper part of the lane and heads for the eastern section of the conifer plantation, this we followed, entering the trees next to a bench which looked out on to the fertile landscape below.

Leaving the footpath and entering the wood on the way to the summit of Bryn Gop

Continuing in the wood we followed the path as it snaked its way through the trees on the plantations southern side.  By now the sky had greyed and the breeze had increased in strength.  I knew nothing of The Gop until this visit and only found details about it afterward whilst researching for this article.  In some ways I found this beneficial as when the mound came in to view it was a surprise as it reared up skyward beyond the trees, an impressively grassy coned lump.

The great grassed mound of The Gop rises beyond the trees

We clambered up to its flattened top, assessed the ground for the high point, once happy with where this lay, I placed the Trimble down and gathered five minutes of data.  During data gathering we both pottered about taking photographs.

Gathering data from the summit of Bryn Gop

Having packed the Trimble away we descended on a different path through an enclosed hedge of hawthorn to the boundary wall where a foot stile gave access to a field which led back to the lane where Aled’s van was parked.

The Gop from its southerly slopes

Survey Result:

Bryn Gop

 

Summit Height:  250.0m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 08675 80158 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  191.3m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 11487 79627 (LIDAR)

Drop:  58.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  23.48% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

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