Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

The Cold Piece (SO 338 996)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in 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 and subsequent LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

The Cold Piece (SO 338 996)

The criteria for the list that this name change 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 now being included in the 390m Sub-Four category, the criteria for which are all English hills at or above 390m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the 1^st edition of the booklet containing this list published by Europeaklist in December 2013 and by Haroldstreet in January 2014, with the 2^nd edition of this list due for publication by Mapping Mountains Publications in April 2018.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the Stiperstones group of hills, which are situated in the county of Shropshire close to the Welsh border, and it is positioned with minor roads to its north-east and south, and the A488 road to its north-west, and has the small community of Snailbeach towards the north-east.

When the listing that is now known as The Fours - The 400m Hills of England was originally compiled this hill appeared under the transposed and invented name of Shelve Hill, with an accompanying note stating; Named from village to the South, this was also the name it appeared as when the list was uploaded to the RHB Yahoo group file database.

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

Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, without much consideration for its local or historical confirmation, or whether map placement is appropriate, and in the case of Shelve Hill this name has been consistently applied by the Ordnance Survey to land south-west of the summit of this hill and approximately 1km from 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 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 research conducted by Aled Williams with a local farmer who gave the name of The Cold Piece for this hill.  Consequently the hill was listed as The Cold Piece in the 1st edition of The Fours when the list was published by Europeaklist in December 2013.  

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

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours - The 400m Hills of England is The Cold Piece and this was derived from local enquiry. 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Stiperstones

Name:  The Cold Piece

Previously Listed Name:  Shelve Hill

 

OS 1:50,000 map:  137

Summit Height:  399.5m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 33849 99695 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

 

Col Height:  341.8m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 34228 99099 (LIDAR)

Drop:  57.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (January 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Bryn y Gwynt (SH 599 449) – Dominant addition

There has been an addition to a hill that is now listed in the Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height, their locations, the drop, dominance and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams.

LIDAR image of Bryn y Gwynt (SH 599 449)

The criteria for the list that this addition applies to are:

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, with the Introduction to 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.

The name the hill is listed by is Bryn y Gwynt and this was derived from local enquiry and the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps and it is situated in the Moelwynion range of hills in the Region of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and is positioned with the A 4085 road to its north-east and has the Welsh Highland Railway to its immediate west and overlooks the Afon Glaslyn also to its west, and has the village of Beddgelert to its north north-west and the town of Porthmadog to its south south-west.

The hill is a part of Coed Hafod y Llyn, and as this name implies its summit is placed in woodland which is deciduous, and as the summit of the hill is not a part of designated open access land permission to visit should be sought, however paths are indicated on the map to the north, east and south of this hill’s summit and therefore gaining access to its lower slopes has probably been accepted for many years.

Prior to LIDAR analysis this hill was listed in the Hills to be surveyed sub list that accompanied the Welsh P30 lists published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website.  When these sub lists were standardised and also drop values added, this hill was listed with an estimated c 29m of drop based on the 56m spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map at SH 59881 44828 and an estimated bwlch height of c 27m based on contouring at 10m intervals between 20m – 30m, with the caveat that the 27m spot height that appears on a road at SH 60168 45293 on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website is judged not to be positioned at the critical bwlch.

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.

LIDAR analysis confirms Bryn y Gwynt to be a Dominant hill, and as the summit has now been surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, it is this result that is being prioritised for listing purposes.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Bryn y Gwynt

Therefore, the addition of this hill to the Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales list is due to LIDAR analysis and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey, resulting in a 59.9m summit height and a 28.0m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 31.9m of drop and 53.21% dominance, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a Dominant hill.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Moelwynion

Name:  Bryn y Gwynt

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  59.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 59949 44919 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

  

Bwlch Height:  28.0m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 60224 45248 & SH 60226 45258 & SH 60227 45259 (LIDAR)

Drop:  31.9m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  53.21% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

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

Myrddyn Phillips (January 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 30-99m Twmpau

Bryn y Gwynt (SH 599 449) – 30-99m Sub-Twmpau reclassified to 30-99m Twmpau

There has been a reclassification to a hill that is listed in the 30-99m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height, their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams.

LIDAR image of Bryn y Gwynt (SH 599 449)

The criteria for the list that this reclassification applies to are:

30-99m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 30-99m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m 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.

The name the hill is listed by is Bryn y Gwynt and this was derived from local enquiry and the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps and it is situated in the Moelwynion range of hills in the Region of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and is positioned with the A 4085 road to its north-east and has the Welsh Highland Railway to its immediate west and overlooks the Afon Glaslyn also to its west, and has the village of Beddgelert to its north north-west and the town of Porthmadog to its south south-west.

The hill is a part of Coed Hafod y Llyn, and as this name implies its summit is placed in woodland which is deciduous, and as the summit of the hill is not a part of designated open access land permission to visit should be sought, however paths are indicated on the map to the north, east and south of this hill’s summit and therefore gaining access to its lower slopes has probably been accepted for many years.

Prior to LIDAR analysis this hill was listed in the Hills to be surveyed sub list that accompanied the Welsh P30 lists published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website.  When these sub lists were standardised and also drop values added, this hill was listed with an estimated c 29m of drop based on the 56m spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map at SH 59881 44828 and an estimated bwlch height of c 27m based on contouring at 10m intervals between 20m – 30m, with the caveat that the 27m spot height that appears on a road at SH 60168 45293 on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website is judged not to be positioned at the critical bwlch.

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.

LIDAR analysis confirms this hill to be a 30-99m Twmpau, and as the summit has now been surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, it is this result that is being prioritised for listing purposes.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Bryn y Gwynt

Therefore, the reclassification of this hill from 30-99m Sub-Twmpau status is due to LIDAR analysis and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey, resulting in a 59.9m summit height and a 28.0m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 31.9m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a 30-99m Twmpau.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Moelwynion

Name:  Bryn y Gwynt

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Height:  59.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 59949 44919 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

  

Bwlch Height:  28.0m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 60224 45248 & SH 60226 45258 & SH 60227 45259 (LIDAR)

Drop:  31.9m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

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

Myrddyn Phillips (January 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

Burway Hill (SO 440 942)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in 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 and subsequent LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams.

Burway Hill (SO 440 942)

The criteria for the list that this name change 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 being included in 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, with the 1^st edition of the booklet containing this list published by Europeaklist in December 2013 and by Haroldstreet in January 2014, with the 2^nd edition of this list due for publication by Mapping Mountains Publications in April 2018.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the Stiperstones group of hills, which are situated in the county of Shropshire close to the Welsh border, and it is positioned with a minor road to its immediate north and the B5477 road and A49 road to its south-east, and has the town of Church Stretton towards the east south-east.

When the listing that is now known as The Fours - The 400m Hills of England was originally compiled this hill appeared under the transposed name of Devils Mouth, which is a prominent name that appears near the summit of this hill on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map.

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

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 are now considered inappropriate or where another name is viewed as being more appropriate, and Devil’s Mouth is such an example as this name has been consistently applied by Ordnance Survey on maps that are viewed as being good for name placement such as the series of Six-Inch maps and the 1:25,000 Historical map, to land immediately above the Devilsmouth Hollow, which is a steep stream valley to the north-east of this hill, with the Devil’s Mouth the narrow neck of land where an ancient cross-dyke is situated with Burway Hill to the east of this point and the main Long Mynd plateau to the west.  Consequently this hill was listed as Burway Hill in the 1st edition of The Fours when the list was published by Europeaklist in December 2013.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in The Fours - The 400m Hills of Wales is Burway Hill and this was derived from historical Ordnance Survey maps. 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Stiperstones

Name:  Burway Hill

Previously Listed Name:  Devil’s Mouth 

OS 1:50,000 map:  137

Summit Height:  402.8m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 44061 94220 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

 

Col Height:  372.9m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 43980 94263 (LIDAR)

Drop:  29.85m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (January 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Bryn Tŵr (SH 604 441)

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill listed in the 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales which was initiated by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 which took place on the 23^rd December 2017 in wet conditions but with clear visibility.

The criteria for the two lists this height revision affects are:

30-99m Twmpau – Welsh hills at and above 30m and below 100m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for ‘thirty welsh metre prominences and upward’.

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales - Welsh P30s whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.

The name of the hill is Bryn Tŵr and it is placed in the Moelwynion range of hills which are situated in the north-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and the hill is positioned overlooking the A 4085 road and the Nanmor to its east, with it being positioned between the village of Beddgelert to its north north-west and Porthmadog to its south south-west. 

Bryn Tŵr (SH 60453 44187)

As the summit of the hill is not on designated open access land permission to visit should be sought, however the hill has a well-used path leading to its summit indicating that people have visited this hill for many years.

The hill’s summit position was previously given as SH 60493 44178, this is where the 52m spot height appears on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website.  This spot height appears in an uppermost 50m ring contour, whilst the position of the 54.5m (converted to OSGM15) summit is outside of this ring contour which is probably due to the cartographer having difficulty with the tree cover.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website

Therefore, the position of the relocated summit is at SH 60453 44187 and is ground at the base of a slate chair dedicated to Rhys Goch; a 15^th century bard who lived at Hafod Garegog, near Beddgelert.  This position is within the 40m ring contour shown on Ordnance Survey maps and no spot height is given to it, the relocated summit is approximately 50 metres east from where the previously listed summit is positioned.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Moelwynion

Summit Height:  54.5m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Bryn Tŵr

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SH 60453 44187

Drop:  c 43m

Dominance:  77.99%

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Bryn Tŵr

For details on the survey that confirmed the summit relocation of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips (January 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

Cowpe Moss (SD 834 193)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in 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 by a Leica 530 summit survey conducted by John Barnard, Graham Jackson and Myrddyn Phillips on the 8^th July 2009 and subsequent LIDAR col analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

Cowpe Moss (SD 834 193)

The criteria for the list that this name change 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; the 400m Sub-Four category, the 390m Sub-Four category and the 390m Double Sub-Four category.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and the 2^nd edition of the booklet containing this list was subsequently published by Mapping Mountains Publications on the 24^th April 2018.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the Cowpe Moss group of hills, which are situated in the southern Pennines, and it is positioned with the A681 road to its north, the A680 road to its south-west and the A671 road to its east, and has the towns of Rawtenstall to its north-west and Bacup to its north-east.

When the listing that later became known as The Fours - The 400m Hills of England was originally compiled this hill appeared under the name of Cowpe Moss, the name was then given as Hailstorm Hill (Cowpe Moss) when this list was uploaded to the RHB Yahoo group file database.  Subsequently the hill was listed as Hailstorm Hill in the 1st edition of The Fours published by Europeaklist in December 2013.  With both of these names appearing on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.

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

Since the original publication of this list there have been a number of maps made available online.  Some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website.  Whilst others were digitally updated such as the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites, and it is the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps that form the basis of the change in the listed name of this hill.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

The Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps formed the base map Ordnance Survey used for many decades leading to the production of the 1:10,000 Series of maps, both have now been superseded by the digitised Master Map.  The series of Six-Inch maps are excellent for name placement and especially so compared to the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map, and it is the series of Six-Inch maps that position the name of Cowpe Moss nearer the summit of this hill.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England is Cowpe Moss and this was derived from contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, with it being prioritised in favour of Hail Storm Hill via name placement on the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps.

  

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cowpe Moss

Name:  Cowpe Moss

Previously Listed Name:  Hailstorm Hill 

OS 1:50,000 map:  109

Summit Height:  476.7m (converted to OSGM15, Leica 530)

Summit Grid Reference:  SD 83497 19346 (Leica 530)  

Col Height:  228.8m (LIDAR)

Col Grid REference:  SD 88463 27399 (LIDAR)

Drop:  247.9m (Leica 530 summit and LIDAR col)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (January 2018)