Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – Y Pedwarau - The 400m Hills of Wales

Moelyci (SH 590 657)

There has been a Summit Relocation initiated by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 to the listing of Y Pedwarau, with the survey that resulted in the following details taking place on 14^th July 2016 in good, clear and bright conditions.

The name of the hill is Moelyci and it is situated in the hills of the Glyderau, with the small community of Rhiwlas to the hill’s west, with the hill positioned between Caernarfon to its west south-west and Bangor to its north.

Access to the hill is relatively easy as a narrow lane heads eastward from the village of Rhiwlas and meets open access land and continues as a green track which crests the bwlch between Moelyci and Parc Drysgol.  A path continues from the top of the green track through the heathery southern slopes of the hill and goes to the summit.

The hill is listed as a Pedwar (Y Pedwarau [Europeaklist May 2013]), these are the Welsh 400m hills with 30m minimum drop, with its summit position given as SH 593 659 which is the position of the 410m spot height that appears on current Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps.  However, the summit area of this hill is given four small uppermost 410m ring contours on Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps.  The grid reference for each position was noted and the intention was to survey each in turn to ascertain the high point of the hill, however sometimes contours do not match what appears on the ground and therefore the ground where one ring contour appears was visually judged lower and was not surveyed, whilst another point not given a 410m ring contour on Ordnance Survey maps was judged to warrant a survey.  The results of the four surveys appear below:

1^st survey:  409.9m (409.864m, converted to OSGM15) at SH 59083 65767

2^nd survey:  409.5m (409.527m, converted to OSGM15)) at SH 59086 65786

3^rd survey:  409.4m (409.415m, converted to OSGM15) at SH 59104 65898

4^th survey:  409.5m (409.486m, converted to OSGM15) at SH 59375 65941

The position of the fourth 410m ring contour that was not surveyed is at SH 59167 65790

The position of the relocated summit is at SH 59083 65767 and is the top of a flattish rock amongst heather, this position is given a small 410m ring contour on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Glyder Fawr

Summit Height:  409.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Moelyci

OS 1:50,000 map:  114, 115

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SH 59083 65767 

 

Drop:  c 72m

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Moelyci, with the old position of the summit in the background on the left of this photograph

For details on the survey that relocated the summit of this hill.

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (July 2016)