Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Elenydd

 

15.10.20  Banc y Maen Rochorlem (SN 675 691) 

Looking north from the summit area of Banc y Maen Rochorlem (SN 675 691)

For many years I concentrated on the higher mountains in Wales, and as I suffer in excess heat I usually visited their summits early in the morning, therefore gaining height before the heat of the day struck.  Because of this I rarely found myself on a hill top when the last vestiges of light turned to dusk. 

A few years ago Mark Trengove and I arranged a number of hill walks after he had finished work.  These were usually preceded by an evening meal which sufficiently delayed the walk for us to be on a summit at sunset.  I have many fond memories of this time and the experience of these late evening walks have stayed with me ever since. 

Today I was out with Charles Everett visiting hills to the south of Aberystwyth.  We had a relatively early start visiting our first hill of the day; Castell (SN 585 789) when mist was still in the valley and morning dew saturated shaded fields.  By 6.00pm we had visited eight hills, all done in a leisurely, unrushed manner with the weather helping as blue skies and slight autumnal warmth dominated. 

We had just one hill remaining on our bagging schedule and its summit was literally a few minutes’ walk from where I parked my car, I’d visited this hill only sixteen days ago and then combined it with its northerly and adjacent hill of Banc (SN 674 702).  On my previous visit golden colour struck the summit and long shadows cast out across the land.  On this previous visit this hill was also the last of the day, and a greyed afternoon sky was transformed to a scene of late colour.  Then I was treated to that magical late light and richness of colour. 

Today the colour was gently diffused as we accessed the upper slopes of the hill through a gate.  The greened rising slopes looked inviting as my shadow pointed the way toward the summit.  It was no more than ten minutes to the hill’s high point which is beside a raised field boundary.  Having surveyed this hill on my previous visit I had no need to do so again and as I gained height I turned around and watched Charles follow me up the hill as the sun crept nearer the horizon. 

My shadow points the way toward the summit

There’s a quiet and contented awe to be on a summit when the sun slowly sinks from the sky, and as I walked across the summit ridge to look across to Banc and the great bog between it and Banc y Maen Rochorlem, it was a sheer pleasure to be at a place like this at this time of day. 

Charles heading up the hill

Behind me Charles was sitting at the summit looking out toward the sun as it crept ever downward in the late afternoon sky.  The golden glow of light that I had experienced on my previous visit was not here during this, but the diffused light gave a gentle feel to the land. 

Sitting on the summit

It is always a shame to leave a summit when conditions are so magical, but as ever one must.  And for us today, it was only a short walk down the steep grassed slopes to the gate and the awaiting car. 

Heading down from the summit

It had been a good day on the hill with Charles, with nine summits visited in all, with eight of these being P30s.  By the time we arrived back at my car it was 6.15pm, we’d only been on the hill 15 minutes and yet every one of these was a delight to experience. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Banc y Maen Rochorlem (significant name change)  

Summit Height:  299.3m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey) (significant height revision)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 67513 69184 (from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey) (summit relocation confirmed)

Bwlch Height:  206.2m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 69578 68344 (LIDAR)

Drop:  93.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) (200m Sub-Twmpau reclassified to 200m Twmpau)

Dominance:  31.10% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

 

For details of the Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey of this hill

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet