Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Elenydd

22.10.20  Pen Felin Wynt (SN 725 759) and Banc (SN 721 762) 

Pen Felin Wynt (SN 725 759)

It was 12.20pm when I arrived at my designated parking place to visit Pen Felin Wynt and Banc.  My first walk of the day had started at just past 8.00am and after visiting these two hills I had one more hill and walk planned; Banc Cwmnewydion (SN 718 749).  In all there were seven hills on my day’s bagging agenda consisting of six walks, and this walk was the only one where there was more than one hill to visit.  Each had been analysed via LIDAR beforehand and the ten figure grid references produced helped in both height and position for each summit and bwlch. 

LIDAR image of Banc (SN 721 762) and Pen Felin Wynt (SN 725 759)

There’s a certain joy in visiting one small heighted hill after another, and doing so by driving between each.  However, many of the hills I would visit today could be easily combined in a circular walk.  The latter gives much greater appreciation of the land, whilst the former can be more convenient and at the end of the day usually gives a greater quantity of hills bagged.  There’s joy in each approach, but an extended circular walk combining such hills usually gives greater fulfillment. 

By the time I left my car and followed a public footpath which is also a paved narrow road leading past a small disused quarry toward Pen Felin Wynt, the forecast afternoon sunshine had broken through the stubborn high grey cloud and flashes of colour highlighted the adjoining hillsides. 

The road led past a number of small houses, all squeezed in to the land, quietly sitting beside the narrow strip of tarmac.  I found this whole area reminiscent of parts of Ireland with a quiet and relaxed feeling to it.  From the end house another footpath is marked on the map supposedly marching up the hillside and heading toward the bwlch between Pen Felin Wynt and Banc.  If the footpath still exists on the ground I lost it almost immediately and spent the time negotiating high barb wired fences and locked gates. 

Arriving at the bwlch the western slopes of Pen Felin Wynt reared up grassed and steep.  A track passes over the bwlch and this would give me an easy approach toward the second hill of the walk; Banc, but before this I plodded up the steep slope toward the high point of the day; the summit of Pen Felin Wynt. 

Banc from the ascent of Pen Felin Wynt

Not surprisingly, this hill had been picked out from many other summits during the day’s previous walks, and arriving at its high point I was met by a quick scud of a breeze-blown shower.  Its high point was easy to determine and within a couple of minutes the Trimble was set-up gathering data. 

Gathering data at the summit of Pen Felin Wynt

During data collection I turned my back to the breeze and scribbled all necessary surveying detail in my notebook.  To the south Llyn Frongoch gave an attractive foreground and framed the grassed summit of Banc Cwmnewydion, this hill looked tantalisingly near and yet would have to wait for another 90 minutes until I was at its summit. 

By the time the allotted data were gathered and stored the shower had passed and sunshine heralded a feeling of contentment.  I closed the equipment down, packed it away and retraced my steps back down the steep grassed slope to the track at the bwlch.  This gave easy walking toward Banc with autumnal colour highlighting patches of hillside, whilst others remained embedded in dark shadow.  This caused dramatic effect and I stopped to enjoy the scene and take photographs.  At this point I met a local runner who was out on the hill.  We stopped and chatted for a number of minutes and she told me of some of the places she visits.  Outside of two local farmers who I had talked with, and a young woman who answered a door when I made place-name enquiries, she was the only other person I met when on the hill during the day and the conversation was welcome. 

The track leading to Banc, with Pen Felin Wynt in the background

A mast dominates the summit area of Banc, but thankfully its high point is in a different field to the compound surrounding it.  I was soon at the hill’s high point and the Trimble was again set-up and gathering its allotted data. 

Gathering data at the summit of Banc

Once data were gathered and stored it was only a short walk on the continuation of the track down from the summit of Banc to the narrow lane that led in a few minutes back to my car.  The walk had taken 1 hour 40 minutes and was the longest of the six I would do during the day.  One hill now remained before I headed home for Wales’ second Covid-19 lockdown. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Pen Felin Wynt  

Summit Height:  373.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 72558 75970 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  251.2m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 73402 76225 (LIDAR)

Drop:  122.0m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  32.69% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

 

 

Banc (significant name change)  

Summit Height:  350.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) (significant height revision)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 72127 76209 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  329.1m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 72361 75991 (LIDAR)

Drop:  21.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) (Sub-Trichant addition)

Dominance:  6.20% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet