Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – 200m Twmpau

 

Banc y Maen Rochorlem (SN 675 691) 

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

The summit of Banc y Maen Rochorlem (SN 675 691)

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

200m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m 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 200m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is listed by is Banc y Maen Rochorlem and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it is adjoined to the Elenydd group of hills which are situated in the central part of the Mid and West Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the A485 road to its west, the B4340 road to its north and east, and has the village of Lledrod towards the west north-west. 

When the original 200m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website this hill was included in the Hills to be surveyed sub list that accompanied the main P30 list, as it was considered not to meet the criteria then used for the main P30 category. 

When the sub list was standardised, and interpolated heights and drop values also included the details for this hill were re-assessed and it was listed with an estimated c 28m of drop, based on an estimated c 296m summit height and an estimated c 268m bwlch height, with both heights based on interpolation of 10m contouring that appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.  With an adjacent hill now listed as Cae Pen y Maen (SN 656 694) given a summit height of 297m which was based on the spot height that appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps. 

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

The details for this hill were re-assessed when the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map became available online.  This mapping had many spot heights not on other publicly available Ordnance Survey maps and for this hill a 299m spot height was given on the area of its summit and as this is higher than the 297m spot height given Cae Pen y Maen the bylchau were swapped and each hill was reclassified. 

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. 

LIDAR image of Banc y Maen Rochorlem

LIDAR analysis and an on-site visit shows the ground on a raised field boundary which comprises a grassed over stone and earth embankment to be the highest on the hill, however as this is deemed a relatively recent man-made construct such ground is discounted from the height of a hill in the listings I author.  The on-site visit determined the position of the highest remaining natural ground and this has now been surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 and it is this result that is being prioritised for this hill. 

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Banc y Maen Rochorlem

The summit height and position produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey is 299.3m at SN 67513 69184, and this position in relation to the raised field boundary comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are: 

The term Summit Relocations applies when the hill’s high point is found to be positioned; in a different field, to a different feature such as in a conifer plantation, placed within a different map contour, to a different point where a number of potential summit positions are within close proximity, or when natural ground or 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, 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. 

Therefore, the new listed summit height for this hill is 299.3m and is positioned at SN 67513 69184, this position compliments that of the 299m spot height but is taken to the remaining natural ground and not to the man-made raised field boundary embankment.

 

ills of Wales, and are reproduced below@

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Banc y Maen Rochorlem 

OS 1:50,000 map:  135

Summit Height:  299.3m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SN 67513 69184 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  206.2m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 69578 68344 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  93.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2021)