02.01.23 Pt. 687.5m (SH 666 238) and Crib y Rhiw (SH 663 248,
only bwlch surveyed)
After the indulgencies
of the festive period, I was looking forward to blowing away the cobwebs with a
healthy burst of exercise. The high
pressure forecasted for the second day of the New Year provided the ideal opportunity
and a round of Mynydd Cors y Gedol was chosen as the venue. The high point of the day would be Diffwys at
an elevation of 750.4m; however, the focus would be the survey of its
north-east top, a hill that I had wished to survey since 2006, since it stood a
chance of making P15 status. Accompanying
me on this trip would be my latest surveying assistant, my other half, Rebecca.
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| Rebecca at Pont Scethin (Photo: Aled Williams) |
The walk started at the
ancient house of Cors y Gedol, where parking is allowed at the end of the minor
road for a very reasonable price. A gradual
plod along the continuing track eventually took us to Pont Scethin, a beautiful
stone-arched bridge that was once on a drovers’ route. The track on either side of the bridge was
badly eroded by the gouging influence of scrambler bikes. These vehicles and their impact on the land are
sadly becoming a commoner sight on the Welsh mountains and more should be done
to prevent them. As I got off my
soapbox, three bikers revved to the top of the ridge we were about to ascend. They noisily made their way down the
hillside, roaring past us as they raced onwards to Llyn Bodlyn, avoiding the
worst of the deep mud that their contemporaries has previously created, thus
creating further damage!
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| Llyn Bodlyn (Photo: Aled Williams) |
As we ascended the
hillside, Llyn Irddyn came into view in its hidden recess with the sweep of Bae
Tremadog providing the backdrop. The
morning mist had risen by this time, leaving us with clear views ahead as we
crested the broad ridge to Diffwys. The
grassy dome of Y Llethr out peaked the series of hills visible to our left,
with the dark and rocky Rhinog Fawr playing second best in terms of height. To our right was Cadair Idris, its bulk
completely enveloped in cloud. A stiff
climb shortly took us to the summit of the appropriately named Diffwys, the
‘precipice’, where a surprisingly dramatic view of Cwm Mynach and Y Garn
greeted us. We carefully traversed the
slippery edge of the defile until we reached the trig point.
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| Rebecca with Rhinog Fawr and Y Llethr as background (Photo: Aled Williams) |
Descending from the
summit, we prepared ourselves for the first survey. The critical bwlch for the north-east top was
easily located beside a stile on the northern side of the wall. The Trimble was placed on top of the wall for
optimal signal reception and Rebecca assisted me in measuring the offset height
between the Trimble’s receptor and the ground below.
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| Gathering data at the 688m map heighted summit (Photo: Aled Williams) |
The first survey
completed, we then headed to the summit of the rocky north-east top, which is
currently listed as a P10 Sub-Top in The Welsh Highlands list that I co-author
with Myrddyn Phillips. The summit area
consisted of a cairn and a number of small outcrops of rock, one of which we
judged to be the high point. The Trimble
was placed atop the rocky pinnacle and measurement duly commenced. Myrddyn had requested that the bwlch of Crib
y Rhiw be surveyed if the opportunity presented itself and so as data
collected, a quick check of the time was made to assess whether this could be
fitted in to the day. The answer was
that it could, but only if we hurried!
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| Looking back at the 688m map heighted summit (Photo: Aled Williams) |
We ascended Crib y Rhiw
quickly. The views down the steep
eastern slope brought back memories from my first visit that had taken place
sixteen years ago - it felt good to revisit.
The bwlch of the hill was easily located a short distance south-west of
the impressive dry-stone wall that adorns the ridge. The survey went without a hitch. Having completed our surveying objectives, we
began the long journey back to Cors y Gedol and as we hit our tenth mile of the
day, the sun shone low above the sea in front of us as it too began its descent.
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| The end of a long day on the hill (Photo: Aled Williams) |
Aled Williams (January 2023)
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