Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales

Coed Gaer (SH 799 808)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop, dominance and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Coed Gaer (SH 799 808)

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are: 

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

100m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015, and the list is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Hiraethog group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the B5115 road to its north, the A470 road to its west and minor roads to its south and east, and has the town of Llandudno towards the north-west.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the invented and transposed name of Pen Goed Gaer, with an accompanying note stating; Name from wood at summit.

Pen Coed Gaer

130c

SH802810

115/116

17

Name from wood at summit.

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a wood and add the word Pen to it.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.  However, as an appropriate name for this hill already exists on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map, the use of the invented and prefixed word of Pen is unnecessary.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales is Coed Gaer, and this was derived from a variety of Ordnance Survey maps including the contemporary 1:25,000 Explorer map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Hiraethog

Name:  Coed Gaer

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Coed Gaer 

OS 1:50,000 map:  115

Summit Height:  134.0m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 79924 80840 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

 

Bwlch Height:  60.0m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 81486 81889 (LIDAR)

Drop:  74.0m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

Dominance:  55.25% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

Myrddyn Phillips (September 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Stiperstones

24.09.16  Caer Caradoc (SO 477 953, previously Trimbled), Willstone Hill (SO 485 943), Hope Bowdler Hill (SO 479 940) and Helmeth Hill (SO 469 938, only col Trimbled)   

Willstone Hill (SO 485 943)

The Shropshire hills offer so much, with their quiet beauty being a joy to re-visit.  The heartland of these hills is centred on the small market town of Church Stretton, and it here that Mark had suggested to meet; also joining us was Bob Kerr, who was driving north from Southampton and kindly taking me to Scotland afterward for Rick and Jen’s celebratory completion of the Marilyns.

Leaving two cars in the town I then drove northward to squeeze my car beside a gate on a track that gave us access to Caer Caradoc, which is one of the gems of upland Shropshire.

This chosen route gave us access to the north ridge of the hill and as height was gained The Lawley stood proud with the flat plains beyond only reaching skyward again with the up thrust of The Wrekin, which proved an ever present distant pyramidal profile placed on the horizon.

The Lawley (SO 494 974)

Mark and Bob on the way up Caer Caradoc

Thankfully the forecast was for dry, albeit gusty conditions and as we crested the upper part of Caer Caradoc the wind blasted across the landscape.  The customary summit photographs were taken with Bob adopting a celebratory pose as he ticked off another Marilyn.

At the summit of Caer Caradoc

Dropping off the hill south-eastward gave us shelter and good paths led us down toward the col of Hope Bowdler Hill, which is listed as a Hump and Four, and which was our next main hill of the day.  I’d previously surveyed Caer Caradoc with Charlie Leventon in March 2015, so decided to concentrate on summits and cols that had not yet been Trimbled.

Willstone Hill and Hope Bowdler Hill from the descent of Caer Caradoc

Reaching the col I set the Trimble up placed on top of my rucksack to give it elevation above its immediate surrounds, quickly measured a 0.44m offset between its internal antenna and the ground at the base of the rucksack and once the 0.1m accuracy level was attained, pressed ‘Log’ and scampered off to join Mark and Bob who were happily munching on their lunch.

Gathering data at the col of Hope Bowdler Hill

Above us were the gently sloped upper reaches of Hope Bowdler Hill and its lower neighbour; Willstone Hill, which is listed as a Sub-Four with the minimum qualifying drop of c 20m.  It seemed a shame to miss out on giving this hill an accurate height and drop and so after the col data was gathered we headed its way.

Willstone Hill is crowned by rounded heathland with a volcanic plug at its far north end, the high point of which clearly vied for being the summit of the hill.  Bob skipped up it and conducted a quick precision survey comparing its height against that of the heathland at its base, it was decided to Trimble both, and as Mark and Bob waited patiently I positioned the Trimble aligned with the high point of the rock outcrop and as the strength of the wind was somewhat strong I attached its dog lead which I held as the five minutes of data were gathered.

Bob on the top of the relocated summit of Willstone Hill

The art of precision surveying

The Trimble attached to its dog lead at the summit of Willstone Hill

Afterward I set the Trimble up on my rucksack on the summit area of land near the base of the rock outcrop and as the five minutes of data were collected Mark and Bob headed down to the adjoining col seeking shelter out of the wind.

Gathering data at the area of the lower heath land summit of Willstone Hill

Once data were gathered I joined them and we all set about pinpointing the critical col of Willstrone Hill, this proved to be ground beside a fence which thankfully was well sheltered from the strong wind.  Once the customary five minutes of data were gathered I packed the Trimble away and we walked up the good path to the summit of Hope Bowdler Hill.

Gathering data at the col of Willstone Hill

The high point of Hope Bowdler Hill is about 14 metres from its small summit cairn amongst heathland scrub of wind-blown grass.  Having been away from Trimbling hills for two months it was good to be out again, and especially so in the company of Mark and Bob, both of whom I hadn’t seen for quite a time. 

Gathering data at the summit area of Hope Bowdler Hill

After summit data were stored we retraced our inward route back toward the hill’s col and continued on another good path, this time amongst bracken toward the col of Helmeth Hill which was our last hill of the day.

The wooded summit of Helmeth Hill from the descent of Caer Caradoc

The col was positioned in a field and was Trimbled, however the summit is positioned in an attractive deciduous wood and although I set the Trimble up at the high point it did not achieve its accuracy level before data should be logged, and having waited five minutes for it to do so, we decided that I should switch the equipment off and it was time to head down.

Gathering data at the col area of Helmeth Hill

Our route toward Church Stretton took us steeply down through the wood and on to paths and tracks leading us to the periphery of the town.  Mark later checked the distance and ascent for the day’s walk and with approximately 600m of ascent it had proved a good day out, it was also good to see both Mark and Bob again, hopefully we’ll be on the hill again shortly.

LIDAR image of Hope Bowdler Hill (SO 479 940)

Postscript:

Since the survey of these hills LIDAR has become available.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height and positional data that is now freely available for England and Wales.  Consequently the numerical details for these hills have been analysed using this technique, resulting in the LIDAR height and position for some of these hills being prioritised.

Survey Result:

Caer Caradoc (significant name change)

Summit Height:  459.5m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 47745 95390 (from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey) 

Col Height:  185.3m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 45734 93768 (LIDAR)

Drop:  274.2m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  59.67% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Willstone Hill

Summit Height:  404.65m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 48564 94370 (summit relocation)

Col Height:  382.2m (converted to OSGM15)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 48190 94230

Drop:  22.4m

Dominance:  5.54%

Hope Bowdler Hill

Summit Height:  425.5m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 47952 94040 & SO 47953 94042 & SO 47957 94045 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  306.0m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 47961 94519 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Drop:  119.5m (LIDAR summit and Trimble GeoXH 6000 col)

Dominance:  28.09% (LIDAR summit and Trimble GeoXH 6000 col)

Helmeth Hill

Summit Height:  344.1m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 46948 93848 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  304.5m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 47133 93753 (LIDAR)

Drop:  39.6m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  11.52% (LIDAR)

For details of the summit survey of Caer Caradoc

For details of the col survey of Caer Caradoc

For further details please consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales

Trwyn y Fuwch (SH 813 823)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop, dominance and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and LIDAR bwlch analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Trwyn y Fuwch (SH 813 823)

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are: 

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

100m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015, and the list is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Hiraethog group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the B5115 road to its south-west, and has the town of Llandudno towards the west.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the transposed name of Creigiau Rhiwledyn, which is a prominent name that appears close to its summit on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map, with an accompanying note stating; aka Little Orme or Little Ormes Head.

Creigiau Rhiwledyn

141m

SH813824

116

17

aka Little Orme or Little Ormes Head. Trig pillar.

 

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore, I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and Creigiau Rhiwledyn is such an example as this name has been consistently applied by the Ordnance Survey to the cliffs that are positioned north-eastward of the summit of this hill, and although it can be appropriate to use the main named feature of a hill for listing purposes, in this instance the hill has its own Welsh name, and this is Trwyn y Fuwch.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

The intricacies of language and prioritising one in favour of another for listing a hill is fraught with complication, with originating Cymraeg names being anglicised and also originating English names being cymricised, examples such as these are more common in border country and especially so for anglicised forms.  There is no steadfast rule that fits all, but as a standard a name that has its origins in the Welsh language and where this is substantiated by either historic documentation and/or contemporary usage should be prioritised in favour of a contemporary anglicised or English version of the name.  Likewise, if a name exists where an element of it is in English and if this name applies to a hill that is situated in a Welsh speaking part of Wales it is standard practice to use a full Welsh term for the name.  It is also standard practice to use a Welsh name for a hill if another name exists that has originated in a different language.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau and Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales is Trwyn y Fuwch, and this was derived from a variety of sources including the Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales (Hywel Wyn Owen and Richard Morgan, Gomer Press 2007), with the prioritised language protocol being used.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Hiraethog

Name:  Trwyn y Fuwch

Previously Listed Name:  Creigiau Rhiwledyn 

OS 1:50,000 map:  116

Summit Height:  141.7m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 81314 82382 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

 

Bwlch Height:  6.3m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 78249 82533 (LIDAR)

Drop:  135.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  95.56% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Myrddyn Phillips (September 2016)

Jenny Hatfield and Rick Salter complete the Marilyns

Congratulations to Jenny and Rick who on the 25^th September 2016 completed the Marilyns on Cruinn a’Bheinn (NN 365 051) above Loch Lomond in Scotland.  In doing so Jenny became the 1^st female to complete the Marilyns and Rick the 9^th male.

Rick and Jen complete the Marilyns on Cruinn a'Bheinn

They were joined by a number of friends for the summit celebrations and copious amounts of Champagne, whiskey and cake kept the throng happy as blustery showers blew in from the west.

There are currently 1,556 Marilyns in Britain and the listing forms one of the toughest challenges for any hill bagger.  The celebratory chant was led by list author; Alan Dawson, who compiled the listing of Marilyns which was first published by Cicerone Press in 1992 in The Relative Hills of Britain book.

A Marilyn is a hill of any height that has a minimum 150m of drop.

Rick and Jen’s Marilyn completion has been covered by numerous online websites, including:

BBC News online

UKHillwalking

Telegraph online

Grough

The Times online