Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

 

Penllwyngwyn Mawr (SN 549 007) 

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the 30-99m Twmpau and Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop, dominance and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Penllwyngwyn Mawr (SN 549 007)

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

30-99m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 30-99m Sub-Twmpau, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 30m and below 100m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

30-99m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips

Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales – Welsh P30 hills whose prominence equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips with the Introduction to the start of the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015, and the list is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format. 

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is now listed by is Penllwyngwyn Mawr and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Sylen group of hills, which are situated in the southern part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B5), and it is positioned with the B4297 road to its immediate north and to its south, and has the town of Llanelli towards the west.

When the original 30-99m 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 72m summit height, based on the spot height positioned at SN 55146 00863 that appears on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map. 

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

When the sub list was standardised, and interpolated heights and drop values also included the details for this hill were re-evaluated and it was listed with an estimated c 47m of drop, based on an estimated c 75m summit height positioned at SH 54904 00700 and an estimated c 28m bwlch height, based on interpolation of 5m contouring between 25m – 30m.  With the caveat that the uppermost 75m ring contour had been missed when the details for this hill were first compiled and published.

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 Penllwyngwyn Mawr (SN 549 007)

LIDAR analysis gives the highest ground on this hill as 76.8m positioned at SN 54907 00706, and this 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 judged to be 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 height produced by LIDAR analysis is 76.8m and is positioned at SN 54907 00706, this position is not given a spot height on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map and is approximately 240 metres west south-westward from where the 72m spot height and the originally listed summit is positioned. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Sylen 

Name:  Penllwyngwyn Mawr 

OS 1:50,000 map:  164, 178

Summit Height:  76.8m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SN 54907 00706 (LIDAR)               

Bwlch Height:  25.0m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 53996 01771 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  51.8m (LIDAR) 

Dominance:  67.44% (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips (October 2024)