Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Elenydd

 

15.10.20  Banc Uchaf (SN 617 743) 

Banc Uchaf (SN 617 743)

As with all walks I now do, there is a degree of pre-walk preparation beforehand.  This mainly takes the form of LIDAR analysis and thereafter noting appropriate ten figure grid references for the summit and connecting bwlch.  This pre-walk preparation also takes in place-name research if an appropriate name for the hill is not given on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps. 

For this hill LIDAR covers both summit and bwlch, whereas the name it was listed by in the original Welsh 100m P30 list is Bryn Cwm Moch, which is an invented and transposed name taken from the cwm to the north-west of the summit with the name prefixed with the addition of the word Bryn.  

LIDAR image of Banc Uchaf

The Tithe map is proving a valuable addition to the resources available to hill list compilers, and especially so for lower heighted hills that do not possess an appropriate individual name of their own, and for this hill the Tithe names the enclosed land where the summit is situated as Banc Uchaf. 

With this information noted, I now wanted to visit the summit and survey it, and as the hill is positioned in the area of land that Charles and I were leisurely working and bagging our way through, it was an ideal inclusion and therefore we slotted it in between our visit to Hafod Ithel (SN 610 677) and the next hill of Cefn Pen y Maen (SN 656 695). 

All these hills and others formed nine that we hoped to visit during the day, and by the time we had found a parking place on a wide grass verge to the south-east of the summit it was 3.10pm and the first hint of succulent afternoon colour was upon the hill. 

Charles heading up the hill

Walking back up the narrow lane we accessed the upper part of the hill through a gate.  Whilst opening it, it pinched one of my fingers and over the next 15 minutes I bled over all sorts of things; including the Trimble, map, map case, rucksack and note book.  I eventually tied a hanky to my finger which dampened the scattering effect of the blood. 

Heading toward the summit

It was a quiet, leisurely plod to the high point of the hill, passing a small herd of cows as we did so.  A further two gates led toward the summit, which is positioned at the base of one of these with a raised field boundary overlooking proceedings. 

Fence posts and wind turbines

As I set the Trimble up on one side of the gate, Charles settled down on the opposing side to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and extensive view.  By the time I’d measured the offset between the equipment’s internal antenna and the ground below and created the file and waited for the 0.1m accuracy level to be reached before data should be logged, and then started the process of logging data, Charles was flat on his back relaxing.  I didn’t blame him, as it was a beautiful spot to soak up the autumnal sun.  Away to the north Pen Llŷn marched out toward Ynys Enlli, it was a wonderful viewpoint and all enhanced by that succulent colour. 

Gathering data at the summit of Banc Uchaf

Once the allotted data were gathered and stored, I closed the equipment down, packed it away and waited for Charles to raise himself from his slumber.  All that remained was to retrace our route back down the hill and then head toward Cae Pen y Maen; our eighth hill of the day. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Banc Uchaf (significant name change)  

Summit Height:  197.6m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 61768 74325 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) (summit relocation confirmed)

Bwlch Height:  148.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 61371 72717 (LIDAR)

Drop:  49.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  24.83% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet