Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

Llanfilo Camp (SO 113 327) 

There has been a Summit Relocation 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 derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Llanfilo Camp (SO 113 327)

The criteria for the list that this summit relocation 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 name the hill is now listed by is Llanfilo Camp and this was derived from information supplied by Coflein, and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Epynt group of hills, which are situated in the central part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned encircled by minor roads, with the A38 road farther to its north and the B4560 road farther to its east, and has the town of Talgarth towards the east north-east.

When the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was included in the main P30 list with a 310m summit height adjoined to a triangulation pillar positioned at SO 11359 32761 that appears on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map. 

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

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. 

LIDAR summit image of Llanfilo Camp (SO 113 327)

LIDAR analysis gives the highest ground on this hill as 310.4m positioned at SO 11352 32709, and this in relation to the previously listed summit position which LIDAR analysis gives as 310.0m in height and positioned at SO 11351 32749 comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Summit Relocations applies when the high point of the hill is found to be positioned; in a different field, to a different feature such as in a conifer plantation,  within a different map contour, to a different point where a number of potential summit positions are within close proximity, when natural ground or the natural and intact summit of a hill 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 310.4m and this is positioned at SO 11352 32709, this position is not given a spot height or a 310m contour ring on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map, and is approximately 40 metres southward from where the previously listed summit is positioned and importantly to a different feature; being relocated from a triangulation pillar to an ancient earthwork. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Epynt 

Name:  Llanfilo Camp 

OS 1:50,000 map:  161

Summit Height:  310.4m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SO 11352 32709 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  223.6m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 09879 31998 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  86.8m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2024)