26.04.18 Burrow (SO 381 830)
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| The two tops of Burrow (SO 381 830) from the south-west |
Burrow is one of many
ancient Iron Age hill forts found in Shropshire close to the Welsh border, it
has four sets of ramparts and ditches and three entrances, it is positioned
above the small village of Hopesay which is a quiet and tranquil place, and on
the day I visited April showers were massing to the west and skimming the land
as they pushed eastward.
Before visiting the
summit I wanted to acquaint myself with its col and take a data set from its
critical point, this is positioned to the north of Hopesay close to the River
Onny, prior to the survey I’d driven a Google car down the lane to the north,
unfortunately this did not show what I envisaged to be the field where the
critical col lay.
I parked just up the
lane from the col in a car park adjoined to the Church, and as it was relatively
early and no one seemed to be wandering the hamlet I thought it would be OK to
leave my car here for 40 minutes or so.
Walking down the lane I
branched right on to a track which heads south, the col was now on my
right. Whilst doing so I activated the
Trimble to log on to satellites as the quicker I did the col survey the better
as its position was indeed in a field and two near houses would have full view
of me wandering round trying to pinpoint its critical point.
I’d analysed this col
via LIDAR, however this did not initially help as I knew its critical point was
close to a fence and a bend in the track, I chose the wrong fence and proceeded
to walk in a large circle through a number of adjoined fields reading the grid
reference in the Trimble as I went, eventually I zeroed in on the critical
point which was only a few metres from the track that I’d been on ten minutes
or so earlier.
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| Gathering data at the critical col of Burrow |
As the Trimble gathered
data I stood back and happily took a few photos and listened to the still
background noise of occasional birdsong and the slow ebb of country life, a
luxuriating experience if ever there is one.
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| The Trimble set-up position at the critical col of Burrow |
Once the allotted data
were stored I closed the Trimble down, packed it away and quietly exited the
field and walked back to my car and drove the short distance south to Hopesay,
where a woman from the Rectory kindly directed me to the most convenient place
to park, and proceeded to give me directions to the top of Burrow, saying that the
track leaving the hamlet opens to a field where an old gate is positioned at
its top left, she also said that it would be a steep pull up the field.
Leaving my car I walked
past the Rectory and St Mary’s Church, which was bathed in morning sunshine
looking resplendent with yellowed Daffodils adding colour to the
foreground.
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| St Mary's Church in Hopesay |
The track proved a
little muddy in places but when it opened out to the field the land became
greened and alpine like with conifers shooting skyward, hedged fields mellowed
in spring growth, and a stillness that seemed to pervade the land, a tranquil
beauty where if things were going to happen they were going to happen at a very
leisurely and undisturbed pace.
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| Looking down on the track leading to the first steep field |
The higher Shropshire
hills poked above the horizon as I gained height up the field, the old gate led
to a sheep path that led to another gate which opened to another steep field, I
spotted a foot stile of sorts pinned to a fence but decided to access the
conifer plantation which swamps much of this hill through two further gates.
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| The higher Shropshire hills |
Entering the conifer
plantation a track led south around the eastern and upper part of the hill and
deposited me at an entrance gate to the ancient earthen fortifications which
climbed toward two high points, each positioned on an impressive ancient embankment.
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| The two tops of Burrow from the north-east |
I visited the southerly
of these two tops first and positioned the Trimble atop my rucksack, took an
offset measurement between its internal antenna and the ground at its base and
waited for it to achieve the 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged,
and then waited a further five minutes for the allotted data to be gathered and
stored.
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| Gathering data at the first top |
During this waiting
period a cooling breeze blew and shower clouds quickly massed out to the west,
these were more noticeable from the northerly top as the view opened up, and
Wales was definitely pushing its weather eastward in to Shropshire and its
hills, as it has done so for millennia.
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| One of the ancient embankments with shower clouds massing to the west |
The Trimble was soon set
up and gathering data on the second top and I watched as showers gradually
massed and pushed down near valleys and across near hills, thankfully all that
headed my way was the occasion breeze blown rain drop, I was standing on the
periphery of what would be a quick soaking if only I was a couple of miles
further north.
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| Gathering data at the second top |
Once the second summit data
set were stored I followed one of the embankments down to the access gate and
retraced my route down the hill and back to my car.
Survey Result:
Burrow
Summit Height: 358.2m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 38112 83083
Col Height: 170.2m (converted to OSGM15)
Col Grid Reference: SO 37852 87600
Drop: 188.0m
Dominance: 52.48%
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