18.09.19
Cyrn y Brain (SJ 208 488, only bwlch surveyed)
And what a fun day today
was. This was the ninth and last
roadside bwlch survey, and all had been researched either by LIDAR analysis
initially conducted by Aled Williams, or looked at with 5m contouring on the OS
Maps website and also compared against the digitised image from a Google
car. The latter was also used to find convenient
parking places. The main purpose,
outside of bwlch surveying, was to get out and partake in a road trip whilst
the weather remained dry and gloriously sunny.
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| Cyrn y Brain (SJ 208 488) |
The last bwlch survey of
the day is adjoined to Cyrn y Brain which rises in a great lump of heather on
the eastern side of Bwlch Oernant; otherwise known as the Horseshoe Pass. I’d surveyed this bwlch once before and also
the summit on a separate outing, but as Aled’s LIDAR analysis indicated that my
bwlch placement was an approximate ten metres from the critical point I wanted
to re-visit and compare the first Trimble placement to where LIDAR gives the
position of the bwlch. From experience
the latter will be the most accurate on this kind of terrain.
Having just surveyed the
bwlch of Moel Fama which is situated in the valley to the north of Bwlch
Oernant, it was only a short drive up the continuation of the A542 road to its
high point were the delights of the Ponderosa Café beckoned. Whenever I pass this place I am reminded of a
meeting held in the Ponderosa with two ex-colleagues when one of them tried to
ban me from all future Scottish surveys.
A surprising stance considering I had just given permission for them to
use Trimble data in their database and to have nothing offered in return except
for banishment was a surprise to say the least.
Even more surprising when one considers
that I thought the person who was trying to ban me was a good friend.
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| The bwlch of Cyrn y Brain |
I pulled in to the car
park at the Ponderosa and found a quiet spot to leave my car, looked over at
those unfortunate memories from five years ago, turned my back to the Café and
walked toward a gate which gave access to the heather beyond.
The ten figure grid
reference produced by Aled’s LIDAR analysis led me to the critical point of the
bwlch. This was beside a slither of
water with heather and moor grass giving backdrop on to the rising mass of Cyrn
y Brain.
It felt good to be here,
even though those memories still make me shudder with the sheer gall of the man. Once the allotted data were gathered and
stored I closed the Trimble down, took a few photos with Cyrn y Brain as
backdrop and walked the short distance back to my car.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Cyrn y Brain |
Nine roadside bwlch
surveys for the day were now complete, with another six completed six days
ago. A good tally with some important
results to look forward to, all that remained was the drive back home after another
excellent day.
Survey Result:
Cyrn y Brain
Summit Height: 564.6m (converted to OSGM15, from previous
Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 20820 48875 (from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)
Bwlch Height: 400.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 19348 48168
Drop: 163.9m
Dominance: 29.02%
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