16.09.21 Waun Fawr (SJ 227 537)
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| Waun Fawr (SJ 227 537) |
To the south-west of the
small community of Rhydtalog lies an open and expansive upland of heather moor
with its high point named Moel Garegog. To
the north of this moorland hills are scattered between numerous narrow lanes, whilst
to the south the Llandegla Forest rises upward to higher 500m peaks.
The summit of Moel
Garegog; a 413.1m high hill surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 in August
2014, joins with Waun Fawr; a 385m map heighted heather clad hill to its
north-east. These two summits are
positioned to the south of the A5104 road and between each hill is a shooting
range, so although combining these hills is feasible, one would have to be
careful as the shooting range is popular and today firing was continuous for a
number of hours.
Prior to visiting this
hill I had examined it via LIDAR. The
summit is not yet covered, but the bwlch is.
Having built up contours using LIDAR I noted the height and position of
the bwlch and this can now be used in conjunction with the summit height and
position that I was about to obtain with the Trimble from this hill’s high point.
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| LIDAR bwlch image of Waun Fawr |
I approached from
Rhydtalog having parked my car at the start of a minor road heading
north-eastward out of the village. By
now the day’s heat was building and I found it a slow plod up the A5104 road, standing
on the grass verge as cars whizzed past.
Thankfully the road section was not long and soon the gate giving access
to a good track heading up the hill over the moor appeared. This track leads almost to the top of the hill.
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| The start of the track |
When listing the
original Welsh P30s I acquired the newly published Ordnance Survey 1:25,000
Explorer maps. The map taking in this
hill is number 256 and on my map the track leading almost to the summit of this
hill is not marked, it only appears on later editions and now it can also be
followed toward the summit via online aerial maps.
In places the track was water
logged, but bi-passing any wet ground was always easy. All around the heather moor shone back
purpled with early autumnal colours just making their appearance, with bracken
turning a succulent bronze and Rowan trees showcasing their bright red berries
with their leafs just starting to turn.
This time of year can be wonderful and especially so on a heather clad hill.
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| The track leading toward the summit of Waun Fawr |
Away in the distance I
could see the chimney adjoined to the old lead mine on the eastern upper flank
of the hill. The track heads toward it,
cresting the hill’s easterly facing summit ridge as it does so. I was tempted to strike out for the summit from
here, but aerial maps indicate the track veers northward and almost reaches the
high point of the hill, therefore I continued on it.
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| The chimney adjoined to the old lead mine |
Except for the sound of
firing from the shooting range and a hummed call from traffic on the A road,
all else was at peace. This hill felt
subdued, a quiet outlier of something higher.
I followed the track to
its high point and left it to head through heather toward the summit. Today the summit was beautiful with it
consisting of a number of large rocks scattered across its upper ridge. Its heathered realm was interspersed with
bracken which added that luxuriant early autumnal colour to the scene.
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| The summit of Waun Fawr |
I wandered through the heather and bracken
and stood on top of four or five rocks, each time looking back and ahead to the
next until I reached one that I deemed the highest. I then continued to the next and looked back,
happy with where I judged the summit to be positioned I then wandered back and
positioned the Trimble on top of my rucksack aligned over the high point of the
rock. Before setting the equipment to
gather data I took the measurement offset between its internal antenna and the
ground at its base and waited until the 0.1m accuracy level appeared before
data should be logged. I then activated
the equipment and retreated a safe distance so as not to get in the way of
satellite reception.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Waun Fawr |
During data collection I
sat below the Trimble on a rock and enjoyed being on the summit. I’d often looked at this hill on the map and
it was proving an enjoyable experience visiting it, just me, a slight breeze, and
the sound of rifle shots over my shoulder and beautiful early autumnal colour.
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| The way back |
Once five minutes of
data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, packed it away and
reversed my inward route, enjoying the track through the heather as I did so.
Survey Result:
Waun Fawr (significant name change)
Summit Height: 385.4m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 22715 53774 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 348.9m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 22115 52838 (LIDAR)
Drop: 36.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Dominance: 9.46% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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