Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – 500m Twmpau and Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru

 

Mynydd Trawsnant (SN 824 485) 

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the 500m Twmpau and the Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams. 

LIDAR image of Mynydd Trawsnant (SN 824 485)

The criteria for the two listings that this summit relocation applies to are:

500m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 500m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and is published on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

The 500m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru – Welsh hills at or above 500m in height with 15m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Welsh Highland Subs, the criteria for which is all Welsh hills at or above 500m in height with 10m or more and below 15m of drop.  This list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams with the Introduction to the list published on Mapping Mountains in November 2015 and the latest update relating to the list published on Mapping Mountains in January 2023.

Welsh Highlands - Uchafion Cymru by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The name the hill is listed by is Mynydd Trawsnant and it is adjoined to the Drygarn Fawr group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-west and the A483 road to its south-east, and has the town of Llanwrtyd towards the east south-east. 

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

When the original list of Welsh 500m P15s that later became known as the Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru was first compiled, this hill was listed with an estimated c 139m of drop based on the 517m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and which is positioned at SN 82136 48415, and an estimated c 378m bwlch height. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

The details for this hill were re-evaluated when the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map became available online.  This mapping had many spot heights not on other publicly available maps and for this hill it had a 378m bwlch spot height and therefore its drop was amended to 139m. 

LIDAR summit image of Mynydd Trawsnant (SN 824 485)

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

The details ascertained from LIDAR for the new and old summit position are given below, but as the upper section of this hill is forested the accuracy of LIDAR modelling may be compromised.  However, the pre-forestry levelled height on the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps substantiates the new LIDAR position. 

 

New summit:  516.559m at SN 82452 48564 

Old summit:  516.489m at SN 82162 48430 

 

The above detail compared to the summit position previously given comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are: 

The term Summit Relocations applies to when the high point is positioned in a different field, to a different feature such as a conifer plantation, within a different map contour, a different point where a number of potential summit positions are within close proximity, when natural ground or the natural and intact summit is confirmed compared to a higher point such as a raised field boundary or covered reservoir that is considered a relatively recent man-made construct, or a relocation of approximately 100 metres or more in distance from either the position of a map spot height or from where the summit of the hill was previously thought to exist. 

Therefore, the summit height produced by LIDAR analysis is 516.6m and this is positioned at SN 82452 48564.  This position is not given a spot height on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map, but is close to where the 517m spot height appears on the contemporary 1:50,000 Landranger map and is approximately 320 metres north-eastward from where the previously listed summit is positioned.

 

ills of Wales, and are reproduced below@

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Drygarn Fawr

Name:  Mynydd Trawsnant

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Height:  516.6m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference (new position):  SN 82452 48564 (LIDAR)  

Bwlch Height:  378.3m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 82781 50423 (LIDAR)

Drop:  138.3m (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2023)