17.02.19
Cribau (SH 732 641), Pt. 504.7m (SH 744 624) and Cefn Cyfarwydd (SH 752
630)
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| Cefn Cyfarwydd (SN 752 630) |
Much of the
north-eastern Carneddau are a world apart compared to their higher adjacent
hills as their land is dominated by heather which always gives an added sense
of wilderness. These hills stretch from
the higher peaks of Creigiau Gleision and Pen Llithrig y Wrach north-eastward
toward the coastal plains of the Afon Conwy.
Along with Aled and Mark
we planned to visit three of these hills with each being surveyed. Two of which are marginal P15s and are listed
in the Welsh Highlands list (Yr Uchafion) whilst the third; Cefn Cyfarwydd is a
potential new Dewey with OS Maps indicating that the 477m bwlch spot height
that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map is in fact on a
separate contour ring implying that the critical bwlch is significantly lower.
We met in Trefriw and spent
an hour in a café enjoying conversation and laughs over breakfast as the
forecast rain materialised. It was
around 10.00am as we indulged in our morning meal, and the rain was forecast to
continue until at least midday. After
breakfast Mark drove on the narrow road toward Llyn Cowlyd were he parked and
we sat in his car watching the rain and wind sweep in and batter the land
around us.
Met office weather
forecasts can be incredibly accurate and we had our boots on, or in my case my
wellies, and walking in dull but dry conditions by 12.20pm, following the track
heading up toward an old quarry above the northern part of Llyn Cowlyd.
The first hill on the
surveying agenda was Cribau, which we’d all previously visited, a long time ago
for me when I surveyed it with my basic levelling staff. It has an attractive summit consisting of two
tops, each was surveyed and although the rain had stopped the strong wind was
still present and I hoped that the Trimble would remain in place during the
five minutes data collection on each top.
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| Gathering data at the first position surveyed for the summit of Cribau |
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| Between the two tops of Cribau |
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| Gathering data at the second position surveyed for the summit of Cribau |
I’ve always enjoyed this
north-eastern land of the Carneddau with its rock carved summits and thick
heather, few people seem to visit these hills compared to their easier
underfoot higher neighbours and they have a feel of remoteness and solitude
enhanced by the elongated lake of Llyn Cowlyd, which today glistened with brief
bursts of sunlight giving a silvery sheen to the grey cloud and rising
hillsides above.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Cribau |
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| Llyn Cowlyd |
Our downward route
consisted of the customary bit of heather bashing before the inward track was re-joined;
this brought us down to the dam of Llyn Cowlyd from where a convenient path
continued through the heather gaining height toward our next point to survey;
the bwlch of a c 500m hill positioned between Creigiau Gleision and Cefn
Cyfarwydd.
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| Mark heading up toward the Cefn Cyfarwydd ridge |
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| Pen Llithrig y Wrach rising above Llyn Cowlyd |
The bwlch was positioned
in a flat-bedded bog and I was thankful for my chose of footwear, which for
winter walking in the climate and conditions that lovely Wales sometimes offers
are a must.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Pt. 504.7m (SH 744 624) |
Once five minutes of
data were gathered I followed Aled and Mark through the heathery surrounds to
the hill’s summit, which consists of three potential high points, with two of
these were judged to be candidates for the true summit, they were duly
surveyed.
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| Gathering data at the first position surveyed for the summit of Pt. 504.7m |
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| Gathering data at the second position surveyed for the summit of Pt. 504.7m |
By now the grey overhead
conditions that had followed immediately after the rain had been replaced by
blue sky and a chilling afternoon strong breeze. During the two summit surveys Mark headed
down to investigate the area of the critical bwlch for Cefn Cyfarwydd. This hill now shone in the afternoon light, a
bulk of a hill that looked from this vantage point to easily have the required
minimum 30m of drop to qualify for Dewey status.
As I stood upon the
summit that had just been Trimbled long shadows cast out against the heather at
my feet with Cefn Cyfarwydd beyond. Once
the Trimble was packed away I followed Aled through the rough heather toward a
welcoming path that eased passage down toward the area of the connecting bwlch.
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| Cefn Cyfarwydd |
This bwlch consisted of
two lines of land that curved round an intermediary heathery bump, whilst Mark
succumbed to the pleasures of lying in copious amounts of heather, Aled and I
assessed the land and decided that two surveys were required, one from either
side of the heathery bump with the placement of the Trimble nearer Cefn
Cyfarwydd our favoured position for the critical bwlch of this hill.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Cefn Cyfarwydd |
It was now 4.30pm and as
I followed Mark and Aled up toward the summit of Cefn Cyfarwydd banks of cloud
had pushed in from the south-west and any remaining blue sky was now positioned
to our north over the sea.
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| Moel Siabod (L), Creigiau Gleision (centre) and Pen Llithrig y Wrach (R) |
It felt good to be on
this hill determining its drop after comparing its bwlch spot height against
the 5m contouring on OS Maps. Map
research can often give the prospect for interesting survey results and my
inclination before processing the Cefn Cyfarwydd data is that it will have
sufficient drop to qualify for Dewey status.
As I approached the top
of Cefn Cyfarwydd Aled and Mark were standing on its high point which consists
of a slight heathery rise amongst more heather.
The Trimble was soon positioned on Aled’s rucksack to give it elevation
above its immediate surrounds, the measurement offset noted and the 0.1m
accuracy level before data should be logged was soon attained, I now waited for
the allotted five minutes of data to be gathered and stored.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cefn Cyfarwydd |
All that remained was
the walk down the hill on what proved to be a good path that led on to the
narrow lane which culminated at the continuation of the track leading toward
Mark’s car which was parked close to Llyn Cowlyd.
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| The walk back |
As I sauntered toward the car the wind whipped down the valley and the landscape looked stunning in the dusk light. I slowly plodded my way back on the track happy to be out in such a place.
Survey Result:
Cribau
Summit Height: 501.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 73264 64129
Bwlch Height: 487.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 73056 63919
Drop: 14.6m (Uchaf reclassified to 500m Sub-Uchaf)
Dominance: 2.90%
Pt. 504.7m
Summit Height: 504.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 74482 62452
Bwlch Height: 491.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 74150 62406
Drop: 13.3m (Uchaf deletion)
Dominance: 2.64%
Cefn Cyfarwydd
Summit Height: 501.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 75201 63067
Bwlch Height: 471.0m (converted OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 74708 62751
Drop: 30.7m (500m Sub-Twmpau reclassified to 500m Twmpau) (500m Double Sub-Pedwar reclassified to 500m Sub-Pedwar) (Dewey addition)
Dominance: 6.11%
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