The Y
Pedwarau list has been updated with the Moel y Gamelin group of hills
Sunday, 30 April 2017
Saturday, 29 April 2017
Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau
Moel Feliarth (SH 993
117)
There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 4th April 2017.
The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:
The hill is adjoined to the Y Berwyn range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and it is positioned above and to the immediate north of the A 458 road and the small community of Y Foel.
 |
| Moel Feliarth (SH 993 117) |
The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff
Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name Foel. 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 either inappropriate or where another name is viewed as being more appropriate. By using the name Foel for this hill I was conveniently using the name that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and which is now strictly given to the village immediately to the south of the hill.
| Foel | 258m | SH993117 | 125 | 239 |
During research for an appropriate name for
this hill I consulted the Tithe map. The
term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or
township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash
rather than goods. The Tithe maps gave
names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for
place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land. This enclosed land is usually based on a
field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and
especially so in Wales.
 |
| Accessing information on the Tithe map is simplified with the use of a split screen enabling the boundary of enclosed land to be compared |
Whilst surveying this hill I took two data sets from the area of the summit, one on the northern and one on the southern side of the summit fence
that is placed in a west to east direction across the upper part of this hill. The enclosed land where the first
data set was taken from (SH 99327 11775) is given the number 1081 on the Tithe
map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these
apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well
as the name of the land. The land where
this first data set was taken is named Coed
yr Hen Ffordd on the Tithe map and described as Pasture. The enclosed land
where the second data set was taken from (SH 99345 11749) and which proved to
be the higher is given the number 1102 in the apportionments and named as Borfa Hir on the Tithe map and described
as Pasture; these appear in the
county named as Montgomery and in the
parish of Llangadfan.
 |
| The land where the first data set for the Trimble was taken from is named Coed yr Hen Ffordd on the Tithe map |
 |
| The land where the second and higher data set for the Trimble was taken from is named Borfa Hir on the Tithe map |
However, although the Tithe map gives names for
the enclosed land at the summit area of this hill, it would be more appropriate
to use the name of the hill and since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff
Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made
available online, some of these are historical such as the series of Six-Inch
maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and
digitally updated such as the enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website. Two of the historical maps now available are
the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the Ordnance
Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, and it was the former map that gives the name
of the hill as Moel Feliarth.
 |
| The Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map names the hill as Moel Feliarth |
The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map. They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas. Fair copies were then produced from these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing. The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18th century and the mid-19th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps.
The name of Moel Feliarth is substantiated by detail given in the Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales (Hywel Wyn Owen and Richard Morgan, published by Gomer Press 2007) where on page 154 – 155 a history and explanation of the composition and the use of this name is given.
The name of Moel Feliarth is substantiated by detail given in the Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales (Hywel Wyn Owen and Richard Morgan, published by Gomer Press 2007) where on page 154 – 155 a history and explanation of the composition and the use of this name is given.
Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in
the 200m Twmpau is Moel Feliarth, and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey Draft
Surveyors map and substantiated by information given in the Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales.
The full details for the hill are:
Group: Y Berwyn
Name: Moel Feliarth
Previously Listed Name:
Foel
Summit Height: 259.8m
(converted to OSGM15)
OS 1:50,000 map: 125
Summit Grid Reference:
SH 99345 11749
Drop: 34.7m (converted
to OSGM15)
Myrddyn Phillips (April 2017)
Friday, 28 April 2017
Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Y Berwyn
04.04.17 Moel Feliarth (SH 993 117)
 |
| Moel Feliarth (SH 993 117) |
Moel Feliarth stands
immediately above and to the north of the small community of Foel, which is
positioned beside the A 458 road as it heads west from Welshpool. It is an unassuming small hill tucked away
from the road with sheep grazing land predominating. Today it was bathed in sunshine and I decided
to visit and Trimble it after attending a friend’s Mother’s funeral in the
near-by Llangadfan.
The hill is encircled on
three sides by a green track which is designated a public footpath, however
when I approached the first access point to it I was met by fallen tree
branches and a mass of brambles, I made a hasty retreat and hoped that easier
access could be found further through the village.
Once on the green track
it led northward toward the area of the hill’s bwlch, this proved expansive on
the valley to valley traverse and consisted of a closely cropped field with a
number of inquisitive sheep as I approached what I considered to be the
critical point for Trimble placement.
 |
| Heading up the green track |
On the western side of
the area of the bwlch is an attractive pool not shown on Ordnance Survey maps,
before choosing the spot to set the Trimble up I assessed the lay of land from
a number of directions, and once the equipment was gathering data I stood back
and relaxed in the quiet scene and hoped that the sheep that were now seemingly
ignoring me and the Trimble would do so for at least the next five minutes of
allotted data collection.
 |
| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Moel Feliarth |
Once data were stored I
packed the Trimble away and headed through a gate and up next to a fence to the
high point of the hill. This is given as
ground by a three way fence junction, with this junction positioned on an old
hedge bank in the GPS entries on Hill Bagging.
Although ground on the old hedge bank was the highest on the hill I decided
that this was man-made and concentrated my efforts on land to the immediate
north and then south of it.
The ten figure grid
reference given in the GPS entries on Hill Bagging indicate that the summit is
just north of this old hedge bank, that is of course dependent upon the hedge bank
being dismissed as not being a natural part of the hill. I set the Trimble up on what I judged to be
the highest point of this land just to the north of the fence and waited for
the equipment to attain its 0.1m accuracy before data should be logged. This took a good ten minutes as it was
positioned directly under an overhanging tree.
 |
| Gathering data on the north side of the summit fence |
During the waiting
process for the equipment to attain its accuracy level and then to gather data
I inspected the land to the south of the fence and decided that this looked
higher. Once five minutes of data were
stored I headed to the south side of the summit fence and crouched down and
assessed the lay of land, one or two firm mole hills vied for the high point
and I judged ground close to two of these to be the high point on this side of
the fence and also for that of the hill.
 |
| Gathering data at the summit of Moel Feliarth |
I duly gathered another
five minute data set and then headed down the southern slopes of the hill to
find the footpath leading over the last field toward the narrow lane I had used
on my ascent. It had been a good small
walk, albeit a teense chilly in the late afternoon on top waiting for the
Trimble to do its stuff when propped on top of my rucksack which is often used
as an improvised tripod, and which had my fleece coat neatly wrapped up inside
of it.
Survey Result:
Moel Feliarth (significant name change)
Summit Height: 259.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 99345 11749
Bwlch Height: 225.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 99330 11944
Drop: 34.7m (200m Twmpau status confirmed)
Dominance: 13.37%
Thursday, 27 April 2017
Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – The Fours - The 400m Hills of England
Reilth Top (SO 284 881) - Four reclassified to 400m Sub-Four
There has been a reclassification to the listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and subsequent confirmation by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams.
 |
| Reilth Top (SO 284 881) |
The criteria for the list that this reclassification applies to are:
The Fours – The 400m Hills of England. English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list are three categories of sub hills, with this hill reclassified to the 400m Sub-Four category, the criteria for which are all English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop. The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and the 2nd edition of the booklet containing this list was published by Mapping Mountains Publications on the 24th April 2018.
 |
| The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams |
The name the hill is listed by is Reilth Top, and it is adjoined to the Cilfaesty group of hills, which are situated in the county of Shropshire close to the Welsh border, and it is positioned encircled by minor roads with the B4385 road to its north and the A488 road to its south-east, and has the town of Bishops Castle towards the east.
When the 1st edition of the The Fours was published by Europeaklist in December 2013, this hill was included as a Four and listed with an estimated c 30m of drop, based on an estimated c 406m summit height and an estimated c 376m col height, with both heights based on interpolation of 5m contouring that appear on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.
%20-%201%2025000.jpg) |
| Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map |
Its reclassification is due to a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey, resulting in a 404.6m summit height and a 375.6m col height, with these values giving this hill 29.0m of drop.
 |
| Gathering data at the summit of Reilth Top (SO 284 881) |
However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed. The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.
%20-%20LIDAR%20hill%202.jpg) |
| LIDAR image of Reilth Top (SO 284 881) |
Therefore, the confirmation of the reclassification of this hill to 400m Sub-Four status is due to a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey and subsequent LIDAR col analysis, resulting in a 404.6m summit height and a 375.4m col height, with these values giving this hill 29.2m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a Four.
The full details for the hill are:
Group: Cilfaesty
Name: Reilth Top
OS 1:50,000 map: 137
Summit Height: 404.6m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 28458 88105 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Col Height: 375.4m (LIDAR)
Col Grid Reference: SO 28878 87840 (LIDAR)
Drop: 29.2m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)
For the additions, deletions and reclassifications to The Fours – The 400m Hills of England reported on Mapping Mountains since the December 2013 publication of the 1st edition of this list by Europeaklist please consult the following Change Registers:
Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (April 2017)
Wednesday, 26 April 2017
Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 100m Twmpau
Bryn y Llan or
Highermost Gredington (SJ 453 383) - 100m Sub-Twmpau addition
There has been an addition to the listing of the 100m Twmpau (thirty welsh metre
prominences and upward) due to analysis of the Ordnance Survey enlarged mapping
on the Geograph website by Myrddyn Phillips and which has now been refined and
confirmed by analysis of LIDAR data by Aled Williams. With the criteria for the 100m Twmpau being all Welsh hills 100m
or more and below 200m in height with 30m minimum drop.
Accompanying the Twmpau
list is a sub list entitled the Sub-Twmpau. With the criteria for 100m Sub-Twmpau qualification being all Welsh hills at or above 100m
and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with this
addition affecting this sub category of hill.
Prior to analysis of the Ordnance Survey enlarged
mapping on the Geograph website and the subsequent analysis of LIDAR data the
hill was not classified. Analysis of the
Ordnance Survey enlarged map gave the hill an estimated drop of c 23m based on
the 114m summit spot height and an estimated bwlch height of c 91m, with these
values being sufficient for the hill to be classified as a 100m Sub-Twmpau.
The hill is a part of the Maelor Saesneg group of hills, this part of Wales is the land to
the east of the Afon Dyfrdwy (River
Dee) and originated as a cantref of the Kingdom of Powys, with its Cardinal
Hill being Pt. 157m (SJ 549 440) and is placed in the Region of North Wales
(Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is situated with the small community of Hanmer
to the north and Cumber’s Bank to the north north-west.
According to the map the summit of the hill is
situated in mixed woodland and as it is not a part of open access land
permission to visit the high point should be sought. There is access toward the summit on public
footpaths from the north originating from Hanmer that follows the eastern shore
of Hanmer Mere, and from the south-west following the boundary of the woodland
in its upper section.
The name of the hill is Bryn y Llan or Highermost Gredington and this was derived from the
Tithe map by Aled Williams, and its addition to 100m Sub-Twmpau status is due to analysis of the Ordnance Survey
enlarged mapping on the Geograph website by Myrddyn Phillips and confirmation
of its status via LIDAR data analysed by Aled Williams. LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) is highly
accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and
Wales.
Aled’s analysis of LIDAR data gives the hill the
following details:
Bryn y Llan or Highermost Gredington
Summit Height: 115.1m
Summit Grid Reference:
SJ 45301 38375
Bwlch Height: 91.0m
Bwlch Grid Reference:
SJ 51088 36435
Drop: 24.1m
Therefore, the 115.1m LIDAR data produced for the
summit position at SJ 45301 38375 and
the 91.0m LIDAR data produced for the bwlch position at SJ
51088 36435 gives this hill 24.1m of drop, which is sufficient for its
inclusion as a 100m Sub-Twmpau,
therefore this hill is included in this sub category and the total in the Twmpau will be updated accordingly.
The full details for the hill are:
Cardinal Hill: Pt.
157m (SJ 549 440)
Summit Height: 115.1m
(LIDAR data)
Name: Bryn y Llan or
Highermost Gredington
OS 1:50,000 map: 126
Summit Grid Reference:
SJ 45301 38375
Drop: 24.1m (LIDAR
data)
My thanks to Aled Williams for sending the details of this
hill to me.
Myrddyn Phillips (April 2017)
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Cilfaesty
25.03.17
Reilth Top (SO 284 881), Colebatch Hill (SO 292 874) and Bryn Hill (SO
295 862)
 |
| Colebatch Hill (SO 292 874) |
The Shropshire hills can
give a tranquil experience, especially so under seemingly never ending blue sky
with distant views and hour after hour of solitude. Today I wanted to test my wonky right knee
with something more than just one small hill, so I opted to join three small
hills together and try and time my completion for a 6.00pm – 7.00pm arrival at
Clun YH to join the evening’s festivities at the annual Triggers meet.
I parked beside a no
parking sign on a large patch of muddied road leaving sufficient access in all directions
to all gate and drive entrances, and headed up a delightful green track toward
the summit of my first hill of the day; Reilth Top. Heading up the track the sun cascaded out of
a deep blue sky and the slight chilled late March morning added to the freshness
of early spring warmth.
The summit of Reilth Top
is in a closely cropped grassed field with a covered reservoir in its corner,
as I gathered the first of what proved to be three data sets from the area of
this hill’s summit two walker’s approached, I waved and heading my way were
Richard and Denise Mclellan, I’d corresponded with Richard via email in the
past and was a friend of Denise’s on Facebook, but this was the first time that
I had met them. We chatted for ten to
fifteen minutes as the sun shone and the Trimble gathered the first of its three
data sets. They had walked from Clun and
were heading down for lunch followed by the walk back to the Youth Hostel, and
had come over the hills that I planned on visiting later in the day, so I
checked on the route ahead. As they
waved their good buys I set the Trimble up to gather its third data set and
once complete, closed it off, packed it away and headed down to the col
connecting Reilth Top with Colebatch Hill.
 |
| Gathering the first data set on the summit area of Reilth Top |
 |
| Denise and Richard Mclellan |
 |
| Gathering data at the summit of Reilth Top |
I’d come prepared with a
number of 10 figure grid references for each summit and col and had been told
by Richard that the connecting col looked as if it was positioned in a paddock which
had horses in it, this wasn’t ideal.
However, when I arrived near the col I thought the critical point to lay
next to the paddock and wondered if I could sneak in to land behind a large
barn and gather five minutes of data without being disturbed, so I crept
through a gate and wandered around a bit looking at the grid reference on the
Trimble’s screen and at the same time trying to assess the lay of land which
looked relatively flat, it was then that I spotted a figure heading toward me,
he didn’t really ask me what I was doing, but his mannerisms did, so I
explained anyway. He thought I’d better
explain to the person at the adjacent Vron Farm, so off we both marched, a few
minutes later and the woman at the farm had given me permission to take data from
wherever I wanted, it so happened that the point I decided to gather data from
was in the adjacent land between the paddock and the farm’s and which was owned
by the person who had first approached me.
I set the Trimble up and stood back once it was activated, a few minutes
later and the same person came down toward me again looking inquisitively at
what I was doing but asking few if any questions, I mesmerized him with Trimble
figures and smiled a lot which seemed to help, and then packed the equipment
away once it had gathered five minutes of data, thanked him for his time and
walked toward the connecting footpath toward Colebatch Hill.
 |
| Gathering data at the col area of Reilth Top |
I initially followed the
public footpath that contours round the northern part of Colebatch Hill, before
leaving it to follow a hedge line direct up the hill toward the manicured green
field where the summit is situated. I
spent a few minutes assessing the lay of land from different directions before choosing
the spot for Trimble placement.
 |
| Gathering data at the summit area of Colebatch Hill |
Below to the south lay
my next objective, the connecting col between Colebatch Hill and Bryn Hill,
however this was positioned in a field between two houses so I thought the
wisest approach would be to ask permission to visit, leaving the summit behind
I wandered down the southerly slopes and skirted woodland on its east before
finding a metalled gate leading to a path through the front of what looked like
a small holding, this led onto the gravelled track heading down from the house to
the minor road in the valley beyond, toward the end of the track were two
people busy at work erecting large poles in the ground. I stopped and chatted and explained what I
hoped to do and asked if I could head in to the adjacent fields. Permission was duly granted and I was
directed through the grounds of the next house which was a holiday home which
wasn’t occupied this weekend, this gave me peace of mind and I contentedly made
my way up the field and through the gate to the property and then down the
access track toward the field and the connecting col.
This col proved a quiet
affair with just an occasional vehicle chugging its way over the lane above me
whilst the sheep grazed and the Trimble slowly ebbed down to its 0.1m accuracy
level before data should be logged, once this was attained I pressed ‘Log’ and
stood back for the allotted five minutes of data to be collected.
 |
| Gathering data at the critical col of Bryn Hill |
Heading up the field to
a gate I followed a forestry track in to Blakeridge Wood which swamps the
eastern side of Bryn Hill. I followed this
track for quite some time and decided to head back to the lane when it started
to go downhill and lead away from the summit.
By doubling back it gave me over a mile of unnecessary walking which
isn’t much in the grand scheme of things but I didn’t want to overtax my right
knee, so this proved an unwelcome addition to the days exertions, but being on
the forestry track gave me views northward toward the Stiperstones, which is
one of the undoubted highlights of the Shropshire hills.
 |
| Distant view of the Stiperstones |
Getting back on to the
lane was a relief but I now had to descend over 40m in height as I followed the
lane down through the quiet surrounds of Cefn Einion. I then branched left on the continuation of
the lane to a track which gave me access to a gate and the steepening western
slopes of Bryn Hill. Field after field
and gate after gate led me up to the summit which is situated in the field
adjacent to the forestry that I’d backtracked out of an hour or so ago.
 |
| House front in Cefn Einion |
I took two data sets
from the summit area of Bryn Hill, one on ground beside a small covered
reservoir and one where I judged the high point to be in the field leading
toward the forest. Once data were stored
I packed the Trimble away and headed down the hill, only stopping to take
photos of a delicate cloudscape toward the south as pink tinged high cloud
wisped through the sky.
 |
| Gathering data at the summit of Bryn Hill |
 |
| Delicate cloudscape from Bryn Hill |
I arrived back at my car
after a mile or so of walking on the country lane, by now the sun had sank
behind the hills to my south-west, and I changed in to clean clothes as the
first chill of evening crept down on the land.
It was only a short drive to Clun and its Youth Hostel for an excellent
evening of good company, good conversation, excellent food at a very reasonable
price (£3.50 for main course and three puddings) and a talk by a self-employed
surveyor who used to work for the Ordnance Survey, a good end to an excellent day.
Postscript:
Since the survey of these hills full LIDAR coverage is now
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 over that
produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000.
Survey Result:
Reilth Top
Summit Height: 404.6m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 28458 88105 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) (summit relocation)
Col Height: 375.4m (LIDAR)
Col Grid Reference: SO 28878 87840 (LIDAR)
Drop: 29.2m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col) (Four reclassified to 400m Sub-Four)
Dominance: 7.22%
Colebatch Hill
Summit Height: 415.9m (LIDAR)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 29215 87470 (LIDAR)
Col Height: 318.6m (LIDAR)
Col Grid Reference: SO 28961 88784 (LIDAR)
Drop: 97.2m (LIDAR)
Dominance: 23.38% (LIDAR)
Bryn Hill
Summit Height: 407.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 29550 86222 (summit relocation)
Col Height: 298.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Col Grid Reference: SO 29299 86584
Drop: 108.6m
Dominance: 26.64%
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