28.08.21 Glascwm (SO
169 525) and Black Hill (SO 174 523)
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| Glascwm (SO 169 525) |
Glascwm and Black Hill were
the last two hills in this area remaining to be surveyed or to be analysed via
LIDAR. Sometimes that need to create
accurate numerical data can take you to beautiful quiet places and today these
hills fulfilled all objectives and needs.
After meeting Aled in
Caersŵs at 8.00am, we were soon parked above the small community
of Rhulen. I dropped Aled off as he
planned a traverse heading north-east over Red Hill, an Uchaf to the east of
Cefn Wylfre, before meeting me on Glascwm or Black Hill. I waved him off and then drove on the narrow
lanes through the small community of Glascwm and up to the top of the road pass
to the east.
From the high road, with
land nearby also constituting the bwlch of Glascwm, I followed a track heading
upward initially beside a fence and then over open hillside. A number of sheep gazed my way as the first
signs of brightness broke through the morning cloud. Buzzards circled overhead with an occasional
Red Kite majestically gliding across the sky.
It was good to be out on the hill.
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| Gwaun Ceste (SO 158 555) from the ascent of Glascwm |
As I gained height I
stopped and looked at the two 1:25,000 maps that cover these hills and estimated
how long it would take Aled to get to the summit of Glascwm. He is younger and much quicker than me, and
would probably make it to this summit around the time that I was on its top or
just below at the bwlch connecting it with Black Hill, both of which would be
surveyed.
The track bisected with
one branch heading southward, whilst I followed the one heading up. This soon brought me to within a couple of
hundred metres of the summit of Glascwm.
I had a good look for the few stones supposedly marking the summit, but
could not find them. If these still
exist they are now immersed in the heather.
I soon had the Trimble set up gathering summit data.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Glascwm |
During data collection I
peered southward but could not see Aled, although he later told me he could see
me on the summit. It was a delight to be
here in the morning sunshine, with a welcoming slight breeze wafting across the
hill. On days such as this the
Radnorshire hills are welcoming places, and as the Trimble quietly beeped away
collecting individual datum points I soaked in the scene of peaceful solitude.
Before leaving the
summit I had one last look toward the south for Aled, but still couldn’t see
him, so I turned and headed back to the continuation of the track, following it
down toward the bwlch separating Glascwm from Black Hill. I’d been this way before, many years ago, I
remember on that day, although the hills were clear of cloud, that it was grey,
which added to the feeling of wilderness.
Today with blue skies overhead these hills gave a very different
feeling, where to linger was to enjoy their openness.
 |
| Black Hill (SO 174 523) |
Once at the bwlch I
assessed the lay of land from a number of directions, before placing the
Trimble where I judged its critical point to be positioned. As the equipment gathered data I stood back
and soaked in the scene, taking a few photographs of the purpled heather and
big blue skies.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Black Hill |
As the equipment neared
its five minutes of allotted data collection I walked back to it, pressed
‘Done’ and closed it down and packed it away.
As I turned to make my way up Black Hill I looked up toward Glascwm and
there was Aled waving back at me. He’d
made good progress.
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| Aled heading down from the summit of Glascwm |
Once he joined me we stayed
at the bwlch for a few minutes before heading up Black Hill. The summit of this hill is similar to that of
Glascwm; and mainly consists of soft heather.
As the Trimble gathered data we sat below the summit looking out to the
east, any distant view was hazy, but the view was still to be savoured.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Black Hill |
All that remained was to
close the Trimble down, pack it away and head back on the track, reclaiming
lost height over Glascwm and down to my awaiting car. Once back at the car we quickly assessed the
lay of land for the bwlch position adjoined to Glascwm.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Glascwm |
Having chosen the spot
for Trimble placement, I approached this position and as I did so Aled pointed
toward a number of wooden boxes close to where I was heading; these were bee
hives! The bees hummed around the bwlch,
a constant sound. I quickly set the
Trimble up, and walked back a safe distance, waited for the 0.1m accuracy level
to be attained before data should be logged, and once attained I set it to
gather data and marched back away from the hives. Once sufficient bwlch data were gathered and
stored I quickly approached the Trimble, closed it down, took a couple of
photographs and headed back out of the field and away from the bees.
Survey Result:
Glascwm
Summit Height: 523.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 16976 52509
Bwlch Height: 392.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 16656 53409
Drop: 130.9m
Dominance: 25.00%
Black Hill
Summit Height: 518.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 17412 52321
Bwlch Height: 493.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 17272 52536
Drop: 24.4m
Dominance: 4.72%
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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