18.09.19
Moel Fama (SJ 161 626, only bwlch surveyed)
Moel Fama must rank
along with Yr Wyddfa and Pen y Fan as one of the most popular of Welsh hills to
ascend. I’ve previously visited its
summit on three occasions, and each time I was met by a multitude of dog
walkers and babies in push chairs with accompanying adults wearing all manner
of foot wear.
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| Moel Fama (SJ 161 626) |
Its bwlch on the other
hand cannot receive many visits except from a local farmer or a cow or
sheep. Today it was just me and five
cows, who obligingly kept their distance although as is the want with many cows
they had their frisky and friendly moments.
The bwlch of Moel Fama had
been LIDARed by Aled Williams and it was his, and my subsequent analysis that pinpointed
its critical position. This critical
point is placed in a neatly cropped grazing field snugly positioned between the
A525 to the north and the A542 to the west.
 |
| LIDAR bwlch image for Moel Fama |
I parked on the edge of
the A542 and walked down the road to where it intersects with the A525. Access to the field was over a wrought iron
fence, but as a drainage ditch followed the course of the fence on the field
side I needed to find a dry and solid patch of ground before venturing in to
the field. This was found close to where
the two A roads intersect.
 |
| The bwlch of Moel Fama |
Once in the field the
ten figure grid reference produced by LIDAR analysis directed me to the
critical point. As I wandered up the
field the cows thankfully kept their distance but always showed signs of
interest. They frisked their attention
toward me but never approached; keeping a safe distance between me, the Trimble
and themselves; thank you cows.
Before setting the
Trimble atop my rucksack I had a quick inspection of the lay of land and then
activated the equipment to gather data.
As data were gathered I stood beside the boundary hedge separating the
field and road and kept my eye on the cows.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Moel Fama |
As the last of the
allotted data points were gathered I quietly moved back to the equipment,
pressed ‘Done’ and took a few photos before packing the Trimble away and
walking the short distance back to the fence and my car. Just one roadside bwlch survey remained; that
for Cyrn y Brain.
Survey Result:
Moel Fama
Summit Height: 554.9m (converted to OSGM15, from previous
Leica 530 survey) 554.8m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000
survey)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 16124 62669 (from previous Leica 530 and Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)
Bwlch Height: 273.1m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 18286 51641
Drop: 281.8m
Dominance: 50.78%
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