05.04.22 Rodge Hill (SO 747 624)
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| LIDAR image of Rodge Hill (SO 747 624) |
As I locked my car I
checked the time; it was 3.40pm as Charles and I left for the ascent of Rodge
Hill. Any warmth from earlier in the day
had now been replaced by a chilled breeze and I decided to put my spring fleece
coat on, otherwise my upper body and especially my arms would no doubt have
felt the chill of mid-afternoon.
Rodge Hill was our fourth
hill of the day, and much of the time had been spent waiting for the Trimble to
attain its 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged. The equipment had been placed in a number of
restricted positions; including beside a road, at the bottom of a steep cutting
that is now a dingle, next to a bricked building below tall fir trees, and on
this hill; beside a tall hedge. None
encouraged satellite reception, during such times Charles had found a sheltered
spot to lie on the ground relaxing whilst the Trimble slowly did its
stuff. Not everyone would have been as
patient and I appreciated his lack of complaint.
Our chosen route passed
close to the connecting col of this hill, we stopped to quickly assess the lay
of land and considered surveying it on our way back, if time and inclination
was sufficient, it wasn’t, so LIDAR data will suffice.
The public footpath we
were now on marched across a large open field, newly planted in crops,
following the course of an earthen vehicle track toward an intervening
fence. It then veered rightward, uphill,
again following an earthen vehicle track.
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| Charles heading across the large open field toward the summit of Rodge Hill |
Any glimmers of sunlight
enhanced the tranquil scene with intermittent flashes of highlighted colour. The world seemed at ease and for me, this
route proved extremely enjoyable. After
gaining the initial height the path met the upper ridge of Rodge Hill. We now veered left and followed the path all
the way to the summit on what is a part of the Worcestershire Way.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Rodge Hill |
The summit of the hill
is positioned beside a high hedge consisting of blossomed hawthorn and the
occasion rogue maturing tree. The high
point was relatively easy to pinpoint and once we had done so, Charles retired
to a bench dedicated to Ali Staines. The
dedication had engraved tandem bicycles on it and the dates 1963 – 2000. It was a beautiful piece of wood and
understated in its simplicity; a fine memorial to someone’s loved one.
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| The bench dedicated to the memory of Ali Staines |
The Trimble took an age
to achieve the required 0.1m accuracy level, but once this figure appeared on
the screen, I pressed ‘Log’ and stood a safe distance away so as not to
interfere with satellite reception and waited for the allotted five minutes of
data to be gathered and stored.
During this time a
couple with a dog approached, I reassured the two women that I had not just
murdered Charles; who had now taken on a prostrate position on the ground. We chatted for a few minutes before the dog
pulled toward Charles, one of the women said ‘she’s going to lick him’, the
other laughed and said ‘not me, the dog!’
This brought lots of laughter to the scene.
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| This encounter and what was said brought many laughs |
The countryside
hereabouts had taken on the qualities of spring with new born lambs nuzzled
against their mothers, with many playfully jumping around the adjacent
field. The view to our south-west was
extensive and the light enhanced the grey overhead cloud giving a pleasing
touch to the last few minutes on the summit of the hill.
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| The view from the summit of Rodge Hill |
All that remained was to
retrace our steps back down the ridge to the large open field and across toward
the connecting col. As we approached we
again assessed its position, Charles asked if I was going to survey it, I knew
I wouldn’t as we had one more hill to visit and therefore we continued down to
the awaiting car.
Survey Result:
Rodge Hill
Summit Height: 188.4m (LIDAR)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 74753 62404 (LIDAR)
Col Height: 148.5m (LIDAR)
Col Grid Reference: SO 74507 63536 (LIDAR)
Drop: 40.0m (LIDAR)
Dominance: 21.20% (LIDAR)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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