Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

 

Pen Rallt (SN 951 859) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey and LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Pen Rallt (SN 951 859)

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017, and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 1^st January 2022. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Pumlumon group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-west, the B4518 road to its south-west and the B4569 road to its east, and has the town of Llanidloes towards the south.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the invented and transposed name of Mynydd Penrallt; with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the East.

Mynydd Penrallt

301m

SN952859

136

214

Name from buildings to the East

 

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a farm and add the word Mynydd to it.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found. 

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

After visiting this hill I called at Penrallt; the farm just below the summit to its east.  I knocked on the front door and was met by Janet Breeze, I explained my interest in the hill and its name, Janet explained that the section of land taking in the near golf course, the wood to the south of the summit, and the high grazing field that incorporates the summit of this hill is all known as Pen Rallt, with Janet telling me she is a Welsh speaker and advising the name spelt with two words. 

Janet Breeze of Penrallt farm

During our conversation Janet told me her husband; Graham was out lambing and that she had married in to the farm with the family having lived here since April 1970.  I asked about the high field that incorporates the summit of this hill and she told me that its field name is the Top Meadow.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Pen Rallt, and this was derived from local enquiry. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Pumlumon 

Name:  Pen Rallt 

Previously Listed Name:  Mynydd Penrallt 

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  301.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 95168 85960 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  223.9m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 94689 85959 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  78.0m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (May 2022)