Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trichant

Curnau Mawr (SN 751 750) – Sub-Trichant addition

There has been an addition to the listing of Y Trichant due to analysis of LIDAR data by Aled Williams and subsequently confirmed via a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.  Y Trichant is the title for the hills in the 300m height band of the Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) and takes in all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have a minimum 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill did not appear in the sub category that accompanied the original Welsh P30 lists when published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this sub category has now been standardised and named the Sub-Trichant and comprises all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

Prior to analysis of LIDAR data the hill was not classified but it was catalogued with c 16m of drop based on an estimated c 390m summit height and an estimated c 374m bwlch height, the latter height based on interpolation of bwlch contouring between 370m – 380m.

The hill is a part of the Elenydd range with its Cardinal Hill being Pen y Garn (SN 798 771) and is placed in the Region of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2).  The hill is situated with the B 4574 to its north and the B 4343 to its west and is positioned between the small communities of Pontarfynach (Devil’s Bridge) to its north-west and Cwmystwyth to its east south-east. 

For those wishing to visit the summit the whole upper section of the hill is a part of designated open access land, and this has immediate access from the B 4343 to the west or from a public footpath from the same road that intersects with the open access lane.

The name of the hill is Curnau Mawr and its addition to Sub-Trichant status is due to the analysis of LIDAR data 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:

Curnau Mawr

Summit Height:  391.4m

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 75155 75007

Bwlch Height:  369.8m

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 75343 74906

Drop:  21.6m

Therefore, the 391.4m LIDAR data produced for the summit position at SN 75155 75007 and the 369.8m LIDAR data produced for the bwlch position at SN 75343 74906 gives this hill 21.6m of drop which is sufficient for its inclusion as a Sub-Trichant, with the details from the Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey being 391.4m (converted to OSGM15) summit at SN 75154 75006 and 369.8m (converted to OSGM15) bwlch at SN 75342 24906, giving this hill 21.6m of drop. 

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Pen y Garn

Summit Height:  391.4m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Name:  Curnau Mawr

OS 1:50,000 map:  135, 147

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 75154 75006 

 

Drop:  21.6m

Curnau Mawr (SN 751 750) confirmed as a Sub-Trichant

My thanks to Aled Williams for sending the details of this hill to me

For details on the survey that confirmed this hill’s Sub-Trichant status

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)

Mapping Mountains - Y Pedwarau - Cefn Digoll group of hills published

The Y Pedwarau list has been updated with the Cefn Digoll group of hills

To access the Introduction to the Y Pedwarau Master List

To access the Master List for Y Pedwarau

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Fforest Fawr

13.06.17  Mynydd y Drum (SN 807 097), Teisen Priodas (SN 820 108) and MRF Tip (SN 828 114, not Trimbled)

Teisen Priodas (SN 820 108)

To my knowledge it was Kevin McGovern who first analysed the ridge known as Mynydd y Drum via LIDAR data, the result being that although the south-western point still exists and is deemed natural, the north-eastern part of the ridge has been dramatically altered due to the workings of the Nant Helen Opencast Mine, with the mining activities having produced two new P30s, one of which is landscaped and higher than the remaining south-westerly natural high point, whilst the second new P30 is further north-west.  Aled Williams then used LIDAR data to analyse these hills and furthermore George Gradwell then did so, their results matched those obtained by Kevin McGovern.  The timeframe for these analyses spanned six months and it seemed no one from the hill bagging community had ventured to these hills for an on-site inspection, and although each had been documented as Hill Reclassifications in the Twmpau with one P30 becoming a sub and two P30 additions, I thought it time to visit these hills, and with the forecast for Wales predicting better weather in the south of the country this instilled enthusiasm for me to visit.

Parking on the outskirts of Y Coelbren next to the A 4221 road I turned the Trimble on and headed toward the coordinates for the ten figure grid reference obtained via LIDAR data for the bwlch position of the highest point and still relatively new P30.  I found this beside a hedge, or to be precise it was in or under a thick and untidy hedge consisting of all manner of exotic plants, including hawthorn, my only option was to set the Trimble up beside the hedge and gather the customary five minutes of data.

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Teisen Priodas

Once the equipment was packed away I drove the short distance to the start of my walk and followed a paved road toward the first hill, this road continues to the buildings of the Nant Helen Opencast Mine.  I left the paved road to follow a track designated a public footpath that led toward the south-westerly hill listed as Mynydd y Drum and which is the remaining highest natural summit on the ridge.

It felt good to be out with an objective for the day, on ground that I had not been on before with views farther south to hills that one day I hoped to visit.  Nearing the summit of Mynydd y Drum I quietly passed a herd of grazing cows and then came across a number of friendly horses and although a great number of each remained close to the summit of the hill whilst I Trimbled it, the survey took place without disturbance.

Approaching the summit of Mynydd y Drum

Gathering data at the summit of Mynydd y Drum

Gathering to inspect the Trimble

My next objective was the connecting bwlch between the hill listed as Mynydd y Drum and the highest and still relatively new and landscaped P30, without the aid of the ten figure grid reference produced by LIDAR data I would probably have been a good few metres from the critical point in the Trimble set-up position, even with the ten figure grid reference I still spent a number of minutes wandering round in a bog slowly zeroing in to the correct placement.  After the allotted five minutes of data were gathered I switched the equipment off, packed it away and headed toward the steepening ground consisting of three landscaped tiers of what is now the high point of the Mynydd y Drum ridge.

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Mynydd y Drum

This new high point is large in area and is now landscaped, I passed an open drainage duct that resembled a water shoot on my way up and proceeded to the relatively flat summit area, I again used the Trimble as a hand help GPS to zero in to the summit coordinates, five minutes of data were duly collected and before leaving I took compass readings toward where the next connecting bwlch lay and the summit of the last P30.

The drainage duct on the south-west slope of Teisen Priodas

Mynydd y Drum from Teisen Priodas

As I crested the lip of the summit plateau I realised that reaching the last P30 may prove problematic as there were a number of vehicles parked outside a large building and machinery chugged away close to it, the mine was still operational, which was a surprise as I’d found a BBC report the previous evening that mentioned that the mine was to be mothballed with the loss of a number of jobs.  Realising that I should not be where I was, I decided to at least walk toward the workings and see if I could ask permission to visit the next P30 hill.

The whole summit plateau of Teisen Priodas is vegetated with foxgloves adding colour to the scene

Gathering data at the summit of Teisen Priodas

MRF Tip from the eastern slopes of Teisen Priodas

Descending steeply down the eastern grassed slopes I crossed a drainage stream coloured a murky looking orangey yellow and clambered up to a dirt track leading to where coal was pouring out of large stationary machinery, I spotted a mine vehicle and headed toward it but gave up as the only way to reach it was past the heavy machinery, the next bwlch I hoped to survey was somewhere near this point and deciding against further progress in this direction I opted for a safer route and back-tracked a few metres and walked up a grassed and landscaped slope and down steeply to another drainage channel and up the other side to a track leading to the main mine building.

Approaching the mine workings

Heading toward the main mine building

Teisen Priodas from the Nant Helen Opencast Mine

I walked round the building looking for someone to ask permission for onward progress, no one was there so I hesitantly carried on and walked up the mine track leading to the top of the last P30, I stopped when a vehicle headed up the same way, I waved and walked a few metres down to it. 

Beside the mine building

Just below the summit of MRF Tip

The person driving the vehicle was friendly and I apologised for being where I was, a few minutes later and another vehicle pulled up, we chatted for twenty minutes or so about the mines history, the loss of jobs, the remaining skeletal staff of six, and the Trimble and place-name research.  They both knew the higher landscaped hill as Teisen Priodas, which translated into English means the wedding cake, an apt name as the hill has three tiers and is relatively flat on top, with the hill I was on my way up being known as MRF Tip.  However much cajoling I did I could not get permission to visit the summit and Trimble it, this was understandable as I should not have been where I was, however one of them kindly offered to drive me over the summit and back down to my car, passing over the summit I looked out on small piles of waste spoil dotted about resembling a lunar landscape, on the way down I was advised to contact Celtic Energy to seek permission to visit the mine with the potential of surveying the last P30; MRF Tip.

Survey Result:

Mynydd y Drum

Summit Height:  296.2m (converted to OSGM15)  

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 80718 09753

Bwlch Height:  271.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 81526 10519

Drop:  24.8m (200m Twmpau reclassified to 200m Sub-Twmpau confirmed)

Dominance:  8.38%

Teisen Priodas (significant name change) 

Summit Height:  337.9m (converted to OSGM15) (significant height revision) 

 

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 82013 10833

Bwlch Height:  244.6m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 84569 11383

Drop:  93.3m (Trichant addition confirmed) (Subhump addition confirmed)

Dominance:  27.61%

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trichant

Ffridd Fawr (SJ 166 274) – Sub-Trichant addition

There has been a confirmation of an addition to the listing of Y Trichant due to a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.  Y Trichant is the title for the hills in the 300m height band of the Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) and takes in all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have a minimum 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill did not appear in the sub category that accompanied the original Welsh P30 lists when published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this sub category has now been standardised and named the Sub-Trichant and comprises all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

When the sub list was standardised and drop values also added the hill was listed with c 22m of drop, based on the 335m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and an estimated bwlch height of c 313m based on interpolation of bwlch contours between 310m – 320m.

The name of the hill is Ffridd Fawr which was derived from local enquiry and it is situated in the  Y Berwyn group of hills and is placed in the Region of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4) with its Cardinal Hill being Craig Berwyn (SJ 071 323).  The hill is positioned above the small community of Moelfre which is to the east north-east of the hill, and between Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant to the west south-west and Llansilin towards the east.  

As the hill is not a part of designated open access land, permission to visit should be sought, for those wishing to do so a public footpath approaches the hill from its north-west.

The survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 produced a summit height of 335.1m (converted to OSGM15) and a bwlch height of 312.4m (converted to OSGM15), with these values giving this hill 22.7m of drop, which confirms its addition to Sub-Trichant status and the total in the Y Trichant and the Twmpau will be updated accordingly.

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Craig Berwyn

Summit Height:  335.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Ffridd Fawr

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 16688 27439  

    

Drop:  22.7m (converted to OSGM15)

 

Ffridd Fawr (SJ 166 274) confirmed as an addition to the Sub-Trichant

For details on the survey that confirmed this hill’s Sub-Trichant status

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant

Ffridd Fawr (SJ 166 274)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 7^th June 2017.

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

Y Trichant - These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with an accompanying sub category entitled the Sub-Trichant with these being all Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 20m and more and below 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill is a part of the Y Berwyn range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4), and is positioned above the small community of Moelfre which is to the east north-east of the hill, and between Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant to the west south-west and Llansilin towards the east. 

Ffridd Fawr (SJ 166 274)

The hill did not appear in the sub list adjoined to the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, when this sub list was standardised and drop values added the hill was then listed with c 22m of drop.  

Prior to the sub list being standardised and drop values added the hill was not classified as it had not appeared in any known listing of hills.  Therefore, although there is no change in this hill’s listed name it is worth categorising under the heading of Significant Name Changes as the name this hill is now listed by comes from local enquiry.

When visiting the summit of the hill I was fortunate to meet the local farmer; Edgar Williams, who farms from Bronheulog which is situated towards the east of the hill.  Edgar is aged 48 and comes from Pen-y-bont-fawr with Bronheulog being his wife’s family home.  When asked the name of the hill Edgar had no hesitation in telling me it was known as Ffridd Fawr, when translated this can mean the large upland pasture.

Edgar Williams

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is Ffridd Fawr and this name was derived from local enquiry. 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Ffridd Fawr

Previously Listed Name:  Previously not classified 

Summit Height:  335.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 16688 27439

  

Drop:  22.7m (converted to OSGM15)

For details on the survey of Ffridd Fawr

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trichant

Comins (SJ 174 282) – Sub-Trichant reclassified to Trichant

There has been a confirmation of a reclassification to the listing of Y Trichant due to a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 and subsequent LIDAR analysis.  Y Trichant is the title for the hills in the 300m height band of the Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) and takes in all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have a minimum 30m of drop, with the introduction to the re-naming of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill was listed in the sub category that accompanied the original Welsh P30 lists when published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this sub category has now been standardised and named the Sub-Trichant and comprises all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

When the sub list was standardised and drop values also added the hill was reclassified to the main Y Trichant list with c 31m of drop which was later amended to c 34m of drop, based on the 376m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and an estimated bwlch height of c 342m based on interpolation of bwlch contours between 340m – 350m.

The name of the hill is Comins which was derived from local enquiry and it is situated in the  Y Berwyn group of hills and is placed in the Region of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A4) with its Cardinal Hill being Craig Berwyn (SJ 071 323).  The hill is positioned above the small communities of Moelfre which is to its east north-east and Llansilin which is farther away to the hill’s east.

As the hill is not a part of designated open access land, permission to visit should be sought, for those wishing to do so an ascent on public footpaths either from the west or east connects with green tracks which ascend toward the summit.

The survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 produced a summit height of 376.1m, with LIDAR analysis giving a bwlch height of 341.2m, with these values giving this hill 34.8m of drop, which confirms its reclassification to Trichant status. 

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Craig Berwyn

Summit Height:  376.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Comins

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 17476 28210 

  

Drop:  34.8m

Comins (SH 174 282) on left of photograph

For details on the survey that confirmed this hill’s Trichant status

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant

Comins (SJ 174 282)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 7^th June 2017 and subsequent LIDAR analysis.

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

Y Trichant - These are the Welsh hills at and above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop,  with the introduction to the re-naming and publication history of this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017.

The hill is a part of 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 the small community of Llansilin which is to the east of the hill. 

Comins (SJ 174 282) with Gurn Moelfre behind

The hill appeared in the sub list adjoined to the 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented name of Pen-y-Moelfre, with an accompanying note stating; Name from village to the East.  

Pen-y-Moelfre

376m

SJ175282

125

255

Name from village to the East

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.  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 historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was one of the local farmers who has lived under the hill all of his life, who gave the name of the Comins.

Emyr Evans

The local farmer is Emyr Evans who farms from Cefn-y-braich which is situated towards the east south-east of the hill.  Emyr is now aged 81 and has lived locally for all of his life; he told me that the hill is a part of the land of Lloran Isaf which is the next farm along from Cefn-y-braich and nearer to the hill.  Emyr was out cutting thistles and we chatted at length, it turns out that Emyr went to school with an uncle of one of my lifelong friends and before leaving he told me that there used to be a flagpole on top of the hill.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant is the Comins and this was derived from local enquiry. 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Y Berwyn

Name:  Comins

Previously Listed Name:  Pen-y-Moelfre 

Summit Height:  376.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 17476 28210 

 

Drop:  34.8m

For details on the survey of the Comins

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2017)