25.08.18 Craig y Bwlch (SN 942 035) and Tarren y Bwlch
(SN 948 033)
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| Tarren y Bwlch (SN 948 033) |
The hills of the Cymoedd
would not be in my top ten list of hill groups to revisit, partly due to the
travelling distance from where I live, but also coupled with the fact that they
have undergone dramatic change in the last 80 years with many now forested and
in later years the profusion of wind farms have also impacted upon this land,
and yet the hills themselves have a softness to the eye and must at one time
have been part of a beautiful landscape that was farm managed and open.
However, along with Mark
and Aled we were now heading south to their forested slopes, planning at least
three walks with an option of a Pedwar tagged on at the end of the day if time
permitted.
Our first hills were
Craig y Bwlch and Tarren y Bwlch, these are situated overlooking the black
debris of an opencast mine to their north, however they have extensive views
from their summits and all except for their south-western slopes that connect
with Mynydd Ystradffernol are free of conifer plantation and wind turbines.
I’d visited the higher
of these hills twice before, and the lower Tarren y Bwlch on one occasion, each
time using the convenience of a large lay-by on the A 4061 road to park my car
with the prospect of a relatively quick and easy direct ascent to their
summits. This proved otherwise as the
underfoot conditions consist of mounds of grassed tussocks, therefore today we
opted to follow an ATV track bi-passing the worst of the copious amounts of tussock
grass hoping it would lead around the northern escarpment edge toward the
summit of Craig y Bwlch.
By the time we’d stopped
for coffee and breakfast on our way south it was 12.00 midday when we set off
walking down the road toward open hillside and the ATV track, this lost a
little height when crossing one of the upper tributaries of the Nant Gwrangon
and continued swinging north and then east around the escarpment edge of the
hill, it was a pleasure to walk on the ATV track having previously experienced
the rough going of a direct ascent.
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| Crossing one of the upper tributaries of the Nant Gwrangon |
To our west the upper
reaches of Craig y Llyn gleamed back as occasional flashes of sunlight struck
its steep northern slopes, whilst away to our east the distinctive profile of
the Beacons were free of cloud. I’d come
prepared with a series of ten figure grid references for the two summits and connecting
bwlch, with one of these produced from Aled’s LIDAR analysis.
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| Craig y Llyn (SN 906 031) |
The ATV track led toward
a fence and continued up beside it to an access gate and then beyond toward the
summit of Craig y Bwlch, after setting the Trimble up Mark and Aled sauntered
off to have a bite to eat leaving me to wait for the allotted data to be
gathered, during this a couple appeared walking on the track heading my way,
they stopped and we chatted; Nick Hadfield and Marie-Andree Lachapelle had met
when trekking the Inca Trail, and Marie-Andree had then moved from Canada to be
with Nick, they are now married and enjoying the Welsh hills. Nick used to be a surveyor working for a
number of local mines and was one of the people who had surveyed these hills
for the installation of a shaft, and therefore he was interested in the Trimble
and my activities around the hills.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Craig y Bwlch |
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| Marie-Andree and Nick |
Once the Trimble had
collected its allotted data I closed it down and joined Mark and Aled for the
short walk east to the connecting bwlch with Tarren y Bwlch, I’d surveyed this
hill for drop with my old basic levelling staff in August 2005 and today I had
the opportunity to do likewise with the Trimble, and when doing so also give
the hill an accurate summit and bwlch height.
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| Heading toward Tarren y Bwlch |
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| Tarren y Bwlch (SN 948 033) |
Mark assessed the lay of
land at the bwlch and chose the spot for Trimble placement, and as it beeped
away gathering its all-important data he and Aled headed toward the summit to
sit near the northern escarpment enjoying the sunshine and views as first bwlch
data and then summit data were gathered and stored.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Tarren y Bwlch |
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| The Trimble set-up position at the summit of Tarren y Bwlch |
Our inward route was
also our outward, and once summit data were gathered the Trimble was packed
away and we retraced our way back on the ATV track to the main road and the
large lay-by which was now packed to busting with cars and people.
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| Craig y Bwlch (SN 942 035) |
Unbeknownst to us we had
arrived to see the mountain top finish to the second stage of the SD Sealants
Junior Tour of Wales 2018, and as we enjoyed our well-earned ice creams the
first cyclists sped up the road to cheers from the numerous onlookers.
Our timing was perfect
as by the time we were ready to leave the peloton had passed and the day’s
cycle stage was over, next stop Mynydd Ystradffernol.
Survey Result:
Craig y Bwlch
Summit Height: 514.2m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 94270 03503
Drop: 37m
Dominance: 7.23%
Tarren y Bwlch
Summit Height: 513.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 94892 03392
Bwlch Height: 497.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 94683 03320
Drop: 15.6m (Uchaf status confirmed)
Dominance: 3.04%
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