21.03.22 Bryn Dinas (SN 646 999) and Corlan Fraith (SH 630 000)
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| Corlan Fraith (SH 630 000) |
With a high pressure
system to the east of the country giving relatively settled and dry conditions,
I headed toward the small community of Bryncrug, which is positioned to the
north-east of Tywyn. From here a narrow
dead end road makes its way in to the hills following the course of the Nant
Braich-y-rhiw. Where the paved section
of road ends its course continues as a rough track. This is where I parked my car and soon had my
spring fleece coat, thin gloves and ear warmer on as the easterly breeze chilled
proceedings.
Although the forecast
was for settled conditions, the sky was not ablaze with blue, it was leaden
with no hint of direct sunlight. Leaving
my car I headed on the rough track with the stream below to my right and white
dots of sheep nested on the steepening slopes either side.
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| The track leading to the hill |
The track made steady
progress ever upward, with the slopes of Corlan Fraith; my second and last hill
of the walk, rising steeply to my immediate south. My first hill of the day; Bryn Dinas, was not
yet in view and it was this hill that was my main surveying objective of the
day as its drop is close to 30m.
Parts of the track could
easily be driven in a car, but other parts were rough and waterlogged where
only a 4x4, a quadbike or tractor could make progress. The track leads up to a bwlch which is
unnamed on contemporary maps and continues meandering eastward. This was the area for my first survey.
I had come prepared with
a ten figure grid reference for the bwlch taken from interpolation of 5m
contouring. Maps show an ancient cairn
which is given a 317m spot height on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000
Landranger map. Between it and the track
was a flattish area, although from my vantage point the cairn could not be seen
and I wondered if it had now been overgrown by moor grass and heather.
Having spent a few minutes
assessing the lay of land and gaining height to look down on the area of the
bwlch, I decided that the best place to take data from was the high point of
the track, which as this point forms a slight cutting. Therefore, I backtracked to it and set the
Trimble up atop my rucksack and after noting the measurement offset between its
internal antenna and the ground at its base I set it to gather data.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Bryn Dinas |
Once five minutes of
data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, took a few
photographs, packed it away and headed to the summit of Bryn Dinas. This consists of two moss laden tops, about
three to four metres apart. I assessed
these from a number of directions and having decided which one looked higher I
set the Trimble up and sat on heather below the equipment whilst it gathered
data.
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| Gathering data at the first grassy knoll at the summit of Bryn Dinas |
I had considered combining
Bryn Dinas and Corlan Fraith in an extended circuit taking in the hills to the
south using Cwm Maethlon as the central hub.
From the summit of Bryn Dinas I now looked out to these hills with the
land situated close to Llyn Barfog looking particularly wild and welcoming.
As I admired the view I
decided to take data from the second mossy top, and soon had the Trimble set up
gathering its third data set of the morning.
During data collection I again sat on heather and looked out toward the
continuation of my route down to the connecting bwlch with Corlan Fraith.
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| Gathering data at the second grassy knoll at the summit of Bryn Dinas |
Land hereabouts could be
a wild affair to walk through if not for the tracks and paths leading across the
moor and thankfully for today’s onward progress a green track led from just
below the summit of Bryn Dinas toward the bwlch of Corlan Fraith. I found this satisfying, both in its ease of
passage, but also in the environment I was now walking in. Even though the blue skies normally
associated with a high pressure system were not forthcoming, and even though my
fleece coat, ear warmer and thin gloves were still being worn, I found this
land appealing, quiet in its nature and probably seldom visited except for a
farmer, a rogue walker or a hill bagger.
I soon arrived at the
bwlch and spent a number of minutes assessing the lay of land. The bwlch was extensive and my positioning of
the Trimble could easily be out by a number of metres. When LIDAR is available for this part of the
country all will be revealed, but as I was now here I chose my spot and set the
equipment up to take another data set.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Corlan Fraith |
Once data were gathered
and stored I packed the equipment away and headed up the eastern slopes of
Corlan Fraith. The initial going was
over moor grass which formed a foreground of bleached colour giving way to
steepening slopes of grass and moss. By
the time I reached the ridge leading up to the summit the easterly wind blew
across the upper hill.
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| Bryn Dinas from the ascent of Corlan Fraith |
Once on the ridge a
fence line led toward the summit of Corlan Fraith. The high point of the hill is festooned with
a large cairn that has a thin plinth built on it, more rock in the shape of a
cairn is placed on top of the plinth and a wooden post pokes its way out of
this latter cairn. The point I judged to
be the highest natural ground was conveniently positioned on the leeward side
of the cairn, giving some shelter for my rucksack and the survey
equipment. I soon had it set up and placed
a rock either side at its base to keep it firmly in place.
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| The Trimble GeoXH 6000 set-up position at the summit of Corlan Fraith |
During data collection I
sat on rock on the other side of the cairn, out of view of the equipment so as
not to hinder satellite reception, and scribbled all necessary information in
my notebook whilst the wind whipped across the upper hill. It was a marvellous place to sit and get
slightly chilled.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Corlan Fraith |
My descent route
followed the fence line I had used leading to the summit, and then continued
beside it down through occasional bog, before steeply plummeting down to the
stream below. This was definitely a leg wobbler;
I stopped on occasion and looked back up, and was thankful that my route for
the day was not done in reverse as this would have been a lung buster to get
up!
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| Looking down on the track I took earlier in the morning toward Bryn Dinas |
At the bottom of the
steep section I easily crossed the stream and walked the short distance to the
track I had used earlier in the morning, this gave easy passage back to my car
where I met one of the local farmers who had driven up to release sheep on to
the hill. This proved a pleasant meeting
and I smiled during our conversation as he was concerned with one of his two
dogs, who menacingly circled me looking for a nip of one of my legs.
After the farmer left I
changed in to dry clothes, during which spots of rain whisked across the
land. Thankfully this did not herald
even a shower and the rain that did fall felt refreshing to be out in.
Survey Result:
Bryn Dinas
Summit Height: 345.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 64662 99930
Bwlch Height: 315.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 64694 00067
Drop: 29.8m (Trichant reclassified to Sub-Trichant)
Dominance: 8.62%
Corlan Fraith
Summit Height: 406.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 63078 00086
Bwlch Height: 303.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 63749 99934
Drop: 103.3m
Dominance: 25.43%
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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