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now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and in the case of this hill it was the local farmer who grazes sheep on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)