Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Cadair Idris

17.02.18  Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 674 147, only bwlch surveyed)

The bwlch of Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (bwlch at SH 662 134)

Having visited three hills close to where the critical bwlch of this hill lies I thought I should at least visit its boggy depths and obtain data, as this can be compared against the data that was gathered using a Leica GS15 when along with John Barnard and Graham Jackson we investigated this spot whilst surveying for the position of the critical bwlch of Pared y Cefn Hir (summit at SH 661 148).

It seems a long time ago when in November 2012 this bwlch was surveyed using the Leica equipment, as we had surveyed the summit of Pared y Cefn Hir and its adjacent hill of Bryn Brith, we needed to find the position of the bwlch connecting the higher of these two twin topped 383m map heighted hills to ascertain its drop value, and as the map indicated three positional possibilities for this critical bwlch, each in turn needed surveying, and the bog that makes up this potential bwlch position was by far the most soggy and unwelcome, to the point that after standing immersed in the bog operating the staff for about 45 minutes I thought I was suffering from trench foot!

Using level and staff in November 2012 to determine the bwlch position of Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail

Today was an easy proposition in comparison as I had come prepared with the ten figure grid reference for this bwlch position.  When surveyed with the Leica GS15 this position proved not to be the critical bwlch of Pared y Cefn Hir (which proved by 0.09m to be the higher when compared to Bryn Brith), but it is still a connecting bwlch for another hill, and that hill is positioned down stream of this bwlch to its north-east with its summit given a map height of 312m at SH 674 147, the hill remains unnamed on the map but a visit to a local farmer after this survey gave the name of Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail for the bounded land where the summit of this hill is situated.

It was only a couple of minutes’ drive from where my car was parked to where a passing place beside the minor road gave me an opportunity to leave the car for the short period of time this bwlch survey would take.

I was soon in the bog, thankfully wearing wellies this time, and used the Trimble as a hand-held device to zero in on the ten figure grid reference.  Even after doing this the underfoot conditions would still give a large margin of uncertainty to Trimble placement as tussock grass predominated. 

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail

As the Trimble ebbed down to the 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged I watched as the delicate play of light slowly cast down upon adjacent hills, with the coned and pyramidal profile of Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail looking particularly fine. 

Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 665 139) on the left and Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 674 147) on the right

Once the 0.1m accuracy level appeared I pressed ‘Log’ and waited for the allotted five minutes of data to be gathered.  My stay in the bog had been a short one, and especially so when compared to my last visit.  Once back at the car I drove the short distance down the valley and called at Nant-y-gwyrddail before visiting Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant.

Survey Result: 

Ffridd Nant y Gwyrddail (significant name change)

Summit Height:  311.5m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 67419 14719 (LIDAR)

Bwlch Height:  237.7m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)  237.7m (converted to OSGM15, Leica GS15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 66210 13444 (Trimble GeoXH 6000 & Leica GS15)

Drop:  73.8m (LIDAR summit and Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000 bwlch)

Dominance:  23.69% (LIDAR summit and Leica GS15 & Trimble GeoXH 6000 bwlch)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 665 139)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 17^th February 2018.

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

200m Twmpau – All Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  With an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan which are to its north-west and the small community of Arthog which is to its west north-west. 

Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail (SH 665 139)

The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Bryn y Gregennen with an accompanying note stating; Name from lakes to the North-West.  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, use the name of two lakes.  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 as the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.

Bryn y Gregennen

280c

SH665139

124

23

Name from lakes to the North-West

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.

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 168 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 the summit of this hill is situated is named as Nantgwyrddeil [sic], with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Dolgelley [sic].

Extract from the apportionments

The name given this bounded land relates to a farm named Nant-y-gwyrddail that is positioned at SH 671 143 and to the north-east of the hill’s summit.  Having visited this hill and surveyed its summit and bwlch I then visited this farm and met Ceri Williams and her young son and daughter.  Ceri and her husband; Gwern, had moved here recently from the Garndolbenmaen area north-west of Porthmadog, she explained that the farm is tenanted from the National Trust and confirmed their boundary, which took in the 312m map heighted hill to the north north-east and the hill that this article relates to which is importantly the farthest summit on their land from the farm.  As Ceri is a newcomer to this area she suggested that I should visit Emyr Rees who farms from Tynyceunant (SH 688 152).

Ceri Williams of Nant-y-gwyrddail with her daughter, son and floppy pawed puppy

As I pulled up in my car at the access track that leads to Tynyceunant, Emyr had just pulled up in his Landrover and was wielding a mighty mallet readying himself to work on a new fence post.  Emyr is aged 70 and has lived at Tynyceunant all his life and is a Welsh speaker.  After introducing myself and explaining my interest in upland place-names, we talked about the hills and their names.  Emyr told me the old farmer from Nant-y-gwyrddail; John Rees, who died in 2017, called the bounded land where the summit of this hill is situated Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail, and that the word bellau can be translated in to English as farthest, therefore the translation of this name is the far off ffridd of Nant y Gwyrddail.  Emyr also gave me a number of other names for near hills, which will be detailed in later Significant Name Changes posts.  

Emyr Rees of Tynyceunant

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail, and this name was derived from local enquiry, with the bounded land where the summit of the hill is situated confirmed by the Tithe map and substantiated with the present resident of the farm of Nant-y-gwyrddail.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn y Gregennen 

Summit Height:  280.0m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 66542 13906 

 

Drop:  35.4m (converted to OSGM15)

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail

For details on the survey of Ffridd Bellau Nant y Gwyrddail

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Ffridd Las (SH 660 139)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 17^th February 2018.

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

200m Twmpau – All Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  With an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan which are to its north and north north-east respectively and the small community of Arthog towards its west north-west. 

Ffridd Las (SH 660 139)

The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the invented name of Bryn y Arthog with an accompanying note stating; Name from stream to the South.  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, use the name of a stream.  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 the local farmer who grazes sheep on the land that the summit of the hill is situated on who gave the name of Ffridd Las.

Bryn y Arthog

279m

SH661140

124

23

Name from stream to the South

The local farmer is Arwyn Lloyd who farms from Ffridd Boedel which is situated directly below the hill to its north-west.  Whilst visiting this hill I called at this small farm house and met Arwyn, who is a Welsh speaker and has lived at Ffridd Boedel for 40 years.  We spent the next 30 minutes talking about the hills and their names, the ffriddoedd to the south-west of his farm, his life as a farmer and the name of the hill directly above his farm, Arwyn said that the hill is named Ffridd Las and it is a part of land that his sheep graze.

Arwyn Lloyd

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Ffridd Las and this name was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Las

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn y Arthog 

Summit Height:  278.5m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 66076 13984 

 

Drop:  30.7m (converted to OSGM15)

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Las

For details on the survey of Ffridd Las

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 200m Twmpau

Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr (SH 654 140) – 200m Sub-Twmpau addition

There has been a confirmation of an addition to the 200m Twmpau with the summit height, drop and status of the hill confirmed by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, which was conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and took place on the 17^th February 2018, and LIDAR analysis for the bwlch.

The criteria for this listing are:

200m Twmpau - Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height with 20m and more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill did not appear in the original Welsh P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website as it did not meet the criteria then adopted for the Hills to be surveyed sub list.  The hill was subsequently listed in the sub category after this was standardised and interpolated drop values added, and was included when the updates to the 200m Welsh P30s were published for the Cadair Idris group of hills on Mapping Mountains on the 7^th July 2014.

Prior to the survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 the hill was listed with 20m of drop, based on the 274m summit spot height and 254m bwlch spot height that appear on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website.

The bounded land where the summit of this hill is situated is named Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr and it is adjoined to the Cadair Idris group of hills, which is situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and is positioned above the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan which are to its north north-east and the small community of Arthog which is to its west north-west.

As the upper section of the hill is a part of designated open access land permission to visit does not need to be sought, for those wishing to visit the hill it can be approached from the lakeside car park adjacent to Llynnau Cregennan where a series of gates give access from one walled and bounded ffridd to the next.

The confirmation that Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr is a 200m Sub-Tumpau was due to the survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 and LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 273.2m (converted to OSGM15) summit height and a 251.2m (LIDAR) bwlch height, with these values giving the hill 22.0m of drop which is sufficient for its classification to this sub list.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Summit Height:  273.2m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 65486 14081  

 

Drop:  22.0m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr (SO 654 140) now confirmed as a 200m Sub-Twmpau addition

For details on the survey that confirmed the addition of this hill to 200m Sub-Twmpau status

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr (SH 654 140)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is now listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which was conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and took place on the 17^th February 2018, and LIDAR analysis for the bwlch.

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

200m Twmpau – All Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym for ‘thirty welsh metre prominences and upward’.  With an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

The hill is adjoined to the Cadair Idris range of hills which are situated in the south-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A3), and it overlooks the double lakes of Llynnau Cregennan to its north north-east and the small community of Arthog towards its west north-west. 

Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr (SH 654 140) on the right of photo

The hill did not appear in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website as it did not meet the criteria set for the accompanying sub list which was entitled Hills to be surveyed, however when this sub list was standardised and drop values later added the hill was listed with 20m of drop.

As the summit of this hill and that of its slightly lower south-easterly top positioned at SH 65693 13963 comprise bounded land the details for each were examined on 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.

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

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 103 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 the summit of this hill is situated is named as Tyddynmawr, the details on the Tithe map appear in the county named as Merioneth and in the parish of Llangelynin.

Extract from the apportionments

However, for confirmation of the land boundary I visited Arwyn Lloyd who lives and has farmed from Ffridd Boedel (SH 659 140) for 40 years, this small farm house is situated to the immediate east of this bounded land.  Arwyn described the whole of this bounded land as Ffriddoedd and confirmed that the summit of the hill which is positioned at SH 65486 14081 and which we were looking up to from just above his farm house is on land associated with Tyddyn Mawr, a farm positioned at SH 652 144, and that the name Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr is appropriate.

Arwyn Lloyd of Ffridd Boedel farm

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr, and this was derived from the Tithe map and local enquiry.

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cadair Idris

Name:  Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr

Previously Listed Name:  not previously listed 

Summit Height:  273.2m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  124

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 65486 14081 

 

Drop:  22.0m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr (SH 654 140)

For details on the survey of Ffridd Tyddyn Mawr

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2018)