Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales, 500m Twmpau and The Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru

Cerrig Llwydion (SN 909 731)

There has been confirmation of a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales, 500m Twmpau and The Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams.

LIDAR image of Cerrig Llwydion (SN 909 731)

The criteria for the three listings that this summit relocation applies to are:

Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main Y Pedwarau list are five categories of sub hills, with this hill now included in the 500m Sub-Pedwar category.  The criteria for 500m Sub-Pedwar status being all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 510m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is published on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

500m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 500m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and is published on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

The Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru – This is the revised draft title for the Welsh 500m P15s list that takes in all hills in Wales at or above 500m in height with 15m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams with the Introduction to the list being published on Mapping Mountains in November 2015 and an update relating to the list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 19th June 2019.

The name the hill is listed by is Cerrig Llwydion and it is adjoined to the Elenydd group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the Afon Gwy (River Wye) and the A470 road to its north-east, and has the village of Llangurig towards the north.

When the listing that is now named the 500m Twmpau was first compiled the qualifying hill was listed as Sychnentydd with a 508m summit height based on the spot height that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps and which is positioned at SN 909 724.  As the adjoining summit of Cerrig Llwydion only had an uppermost 500m ring contour and did not possess a spot height it was regarded as lower in height compared to the adjacent hill of Sychnentydd.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

It was David Purchase who first brought to attention that Cerrig Llwydion may be higher than Sychnentydd, a rudimentary survey using a basic levelling staff was then conducted by Myrddyn Phillups on the 9^th November 2005 resulting in Cerrig Llwydion being approximately 2m higher than Sychnenydd and with 13m of drop from the connecting bwlch between the two summits to the higher hill.  This was followed by an on-site visit from John Kirk who took readings during a basic survey and concluded that Cerrig Llwydion is the higher hill by approximately 1.5m – 2m.

The details for this hill were also re-assessed when the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which is entitled the Interactive Coverage Map became available online.  This mapping had many spot heights not on other publicly available Ordnance Survey maps and showed a 509m summit spot height for Cerrig Llwydion.  This spot height is also shown on Ordnance Survey data that appears on the Magic Maps website.    

Extract from the Magic Maps website

The qualifying summit was subsequently relocated to Cerrig Llwydion based on the rudimentary surveys and the 509m spot height as detailed above.

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

The LIDAR result for each summit is given below:

Sychnentydd:  508.0m summit at SN 91001 72465

Cerrig Llwydion:  509.4m summit at SN 90965 73141

LIDAR image of Cerrig Llwydion and Sychnentydd

The result produced by LIDAR analysis comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Summit Relocations applies to any listed hill whose summit meets the following criteria; where there are a number of potential summit positions within close proximity and the highest point is not where previously given, or a relocation of approximately 100 metres or more in distance from either the position of a map spot height or from where the summit of the hill was previously thought to exist, or when the summit of the hill is in a different field compared to where previously given, or when it is positioned to a different feature such as in a conifer plantation, or when the high point of the hill is placed within a different map contour compared to its previous listed position, or when the natural and intact summit of a hill is confirmed compared to a higher point such as a raised field boundary that is judged to be a relatively recent man-made construct.

Therefore, the summit height produced by LIDAR analysis for Cerrig Llwydion is 509.4m and is positioned at SN 90965 73141, and as this summit has been confirmed as being 1.4m higher than the 508.0m summit of Sychnentydd positioned at SN 91001 72465 the relocation of the qualifying summit is confirmed.

ills of Wales, and are reproduced below@

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Cerrig Llwydion

OS 1:50,000 map:  136 147

Summit Height:  509.4m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference (new position):  SN 90965 73141 (LIDAR) 

 

Bwlch Height:  462.0m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 92807 72279 (LIDAR)

Drop:  47.4m (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (February 2020)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Cae Bengard & Cae Graig (SO 427 101)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height, their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

LIDAR image of Cae Bengard & Cae Graig (SO 427 101)

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is adjoined to the Mynyddoedd Duon group of hills which are situated in the eastern part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C3), and it is encircled by minor roads with the Afon Troddi (River Trothy) and the B4233 road further to its north and the A40 road further to its south, and has the town of Y Fenni (Abergavenny) towards the west north-west and Trefynwy (Monmouth) towards the east north-east.

The hill originally appeared in the 100m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under a transposed name of The Hand, which is a prominent name that appears near the summit of this hill on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps.

The Hand

111m

SO427101

161

14

Trig pillar

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on the map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are either inappropriate or where another name is viewed as being more appropriate.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

As this hill comprises bounded land the Tithe map was consulted.  The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 302 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Cae Bengard & Cae Graig in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Tregare [sic] and in the county named as Monmouth.

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau is Cae Bengard & Cae Graig, and this was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynyddoedd Duon

Name:  Cae Bengard & Cae Graig

Previously Listed Name:  The Hand

OS 1:50,000 map:  161

Summit Height:  110.9m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 42757 10187 (LIDAR)

Bwlch Height:  79.7m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 41460 11339 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  31.2m (LIDAR)

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2020)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

Ffridd Ganol (SH 846 754)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from detail on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13th May 2017.

The hill is adjoined to the Rhos group of hills which are situated in the northern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the B5113 road to its north-west, the B5381 road to its south and the B5383 road to its north-east, and has the town of Bae Colwyn (Colwyn Bay) towards the north.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 300m P30 list published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the partly invented and transposed name of Bryn Glan Gors, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South.

Bryn Glan Gors

300m

SH846754

116

17

Name from buildings to the South

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance, use the name of what I presumed to be buildings and prefix it with the word Bryn.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.  As this hill comprises bounded land the Tithe map was consulted. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 826 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Ffridd Ganol in the apportionments, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Llandrillo in Rhos [sic] and in the counties named as Denbigh and Caernarfon.

Extract from the apportionment

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Ffridd Ganol, and this was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Rhos

Name:  Ffridd Ganol

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Glan Gors

OS 1:50,000 map:  116

Summit Height:  300m (spot height)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 84600 75431 (spot height)

Bwlch Height:  c 276m (interpolation)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 84752 75197 (interpolation)

Drop:  c 24m (spot height summit and interpolated bwlch)

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2020)

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Marilyns

Mynydd Anelog (SH 151 272) – Submarilyn reclassified to Marilyn

This is one in a series of retrospective Hill Reclassification posts that detail hills whose status has altered in the listing of the Welsh Marilyns.  These reclassification posts will give details of hills where I have had direct association with their change of status, and they will tie in with a forthcoming Change Register giving detail to this list and its alterations since publication in the TACit Tables booklet

The listing of Welsh Marilyns was published in booklet format by TACit Tables in February 1997 and entitled The Hewitts and Marilyns of Wales.  The Marilyns were originally listed as an all British compilation and were published by Cicerone Press in 1992 in the book entitled The Relative Hills of Britain.  The list compiler for the Marilyns is Alan Dawson.

When the Welsh Marilyns list was published in booklet format there were 156 qualifying hills with a further 27 Welsh Submarilyns also included.  The criteria for Marilyn status being any hill that has a drop of at least 150m, irrespective of their height, with the criteria for Submarilyn being any hill that has 140m or more and below 150m of drop.

The Hewitts and Marilyns of Wales by Alan Dawson

The details for the hill reclassification appear below:

The name of the hill is Mynydd Anelog, and it is situated in the Pen Llŷn group of hills in the north-western part of Wales, and is positioned with minor roads to its south and east, with the B4413 road further to its east, and has the coast to its immediate west and the small community of Aberdaron towards the east south-east.

Prior to this hill’s reclassification to Marilyn status it was listed as a Submarilyn with an estimated c 149m of drop, based on the 192m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map and an estimated bwlch height of c 43m.

The Leica GS15 set-up position at the bwlch of Mynydd Anelog

As its c 149m listed drop was near the benchmark value of 150m it was prioritised for a GNSS survey and this took place on the 12^th July 2013.  The summit and bwlch of this hill were surveyed by John Barnard, Graham Jackson and Myrddyn Phillips using a Leica GS15 with an hour of data collected at the summit, with Enid Parr, Jeff Parr and Chris Watson also in attendance, resulting in a 191.4m summit height and a 40.4m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 151.0m of drop.

The Leica GS15 set-up position at the summit of Myndd Anelog

The reclassification of this hill from Submarilyn to Marilyn status was accepted by the list author; Alan Dawson, and its new classification augmented in to the listing of Marilyns in July 2013.

The full details for the hill are:

Name:  Mynydd Anelog

OS 1:50,000 map:  123

OS 1:25,000 map:  253

Summit Height:  191.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 15193 27218

Bwlch Height:  40.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 17347 28960

Drop:  151.0m

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2020)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Y Berwyn

19.11.19  Moel y Tryfel (SH 975 154)  

Moel y Tryfel (SH 975 154)

With reports on the Hill Bagging website that the upper section of Moel y Tryfel had been cleared of forestry it felt prudent to pay the hill a visit, and although until recent times this hill was listed as a marginal Pedwar, its summit and connecting bwlch had been LIDARed by Aled Williams, so its status was safe, but still, a Trimble summit survey wouldn’t go amiss.

LIDAR image of Moel y Tryfel

Today’s little wander was in the company of Mark Trengove, and with a late afternoon meal arranged at The Raven in Welshpool, once Mark had arrived at my home we could have a leisurely buttered crumpet or two with a mug of tea / coffee before heading west to the small community of Foel and the narrow minor road that leads in to the hills and more specifically to the base of Moel y Tryfel.

As I donned my wellies for the first time this season the sky above was hazy with high cloud delicately intermingled with a gentle and seasonal blue, however the forecast gave for cloud edging in from the west and as we walked through the farm yard close to where we had parked, the first glimmers of this dull greyed cloud mass was already on the horizon.

Heading for the hill

To our north the conifered area of Moel y Tryfel rose above pastured grazing fields, with mature trees hiding what we hoped was the de-felled summit area.  Our path contoured the hillside gaining height slowly and aiming for a gate which gave access through a brackened and gorse laden gap in the forestry, this soon led on to a wide forest track.  It was this track which in time would lead us around the easterly upper part of this hill and give us access to its summit area.

The gap through the trees leading to the forest track

We were told at the farm that the conifers were still being felled and to our north the distinct hum of machinery wafted across the hill.  We examined the LIDAR bwlch position before heading further up towards the summit, as it was immersed in conifers to the east of a minor forest track we headed back to the main track and continued skirting the upper easterly part of the hill.

Two or three rougher tracks head off up the hill from the main track, choosing the last of these we plodded our way up until close to the summit and then abandoned it in favour of a direct route to the high point.

Nearing the summit

The summit of Moel y Tryfel now consists of rough felled ground with newly planted trees adding greenery to the immediate surrounds.  We assessed the ground for the highest point and soon the Trimble was set up gathering its allotted data.

Gathering data at the summit of Moel y Tryfel

By now the western murk had quickly overtaken any semblance of blue that pierced the start of our walk.  The surrounding higher hills were now immersed in clag and it proved an ideal time to leave the summit and head back to the main forest track.  We hoped to continue round the northerly and westerly slopes of the hill on this track which in time would take us back to the farm we had parked at.  However, forestry operations stopped us as trees were being uprooted, their branches quickly skimmed off and their bulk cut, we did ask if we could pass but were politely told that we couldn’t, therefore we headed back up the track and reversed our inward route.

The afternoon ended with a good meal in The Raven before Mark headed home.  The day had proved excellent, with good company, a wee hill and walk followed by the meal.  It always amazes me how such a day can instantly refresh the soul.

Survey Result:

Moel y Tryfel 

Summit Height:  406.2m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 97503 15479

Bwlch Height:  371.9m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 97947 15395 (LIDAR)

Drop:  34.3m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  8.44% (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet