Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - 100m Twmpau

 

100m Twmpau – Significant Name Changes

The 100m Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) are the Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height that have a minimum drop of 30m.  Accompanying the main P30 list is a sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau with the qualification to this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.

The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips and the posts that have appeared on Mapping Mountains detailing the significant name changes to the main P30 list and the sub list appear below presented chronologically in receding order.









Mapping Mountains - Significant Name Changes - 100m Twmpau

Coed Penllyn (SH 786 696) - 176th significant name change

Significant Height Revisions post for Coed Penllyn

Summit Relocations post for Coed Penllyn


There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 100m Twmpau, 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 Coed Penllyn (SH 786 696)


The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are:

100m Twmpau - Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 100m Sub-Twmpau, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 100m and below 200m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

100m Twmpau by Myrddyn Phillips


The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Hiraethog group of hills, which are situated in the northern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the A470 road to its west and a minor road to its east, and has the town of Llanrwst towards the south. 

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


When the original 100m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was included in the accompanying Hills to be surveyed sub list under the invented and transposed name of Pen Coed y Bortho, with an accompanying note stating; Name from wood to the West.


Pen Coed y Bortho193mSH78669711517Height from 1989 1:50000 map. Name from wood to the West.


During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day, with little consideration for the meaning of the name and where it was appropriately applied to.  My preference was to use farm names and put PenBryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance transpose the name of a wood and add the word Pen to it.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.

Since the original publication of the Welsh P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, there have been a number of maps made available online.  Some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website.  Whilst others were digitally updated such as the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites, and it is the series of Ordnance Survey Six-Inch maps coupled with the Ordnance Survey map that was hosted on the Geograph website that form the basis of the change in the listed name of this hill. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps published in 1900


The Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps formed the base map Ordnance Survey used for many decades leading to the production of the 1:10,000 Series of maps, both have now been superseded by the digitised Master Map.  The series of Six-Inch maps are excellent for name placement and especially so compared to the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map, and it is the series of Six-Inch maps that name the plantation where the summit of this hill is situated as firstly Planhigfa Penllyn in the 1900 publication and later as Penllyn Wood in the 1953 publication.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps published in 1953


However, it is the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map that uses the full Welsh term for this wood and names it as Coed Penllyn.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau is Coed Penllyn, and this was derived from the foundations of the name appearing on the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps and lastly with the name appearing in its full Welsh form on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Hiraethog

Name:  Coed Penllyn

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Coed y Bortho 

OS 1:50,000 map:  115

Summit Height:  198.0m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 78630 69665 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  170.9m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 78892 70134 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  27.1m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (June 2026) 


Tuesday, 30 June 2026

Monthly Synopsis

 

Synopsis of all major changes detailed on Mapping Mountains during the last calendar month.  These can include new, confirmation and retrospective changes


 


Hill Reclassifications: 

Tump (SO 404 953) - Sub-Four exclusion

Chapman Barrows (SS 700 434) - Sub-Four exclusion

Mynydd Deulyn (SH 754 605) - Welsh Sub-P15 reclassified to Welsh P15

Setta Barrow (SS 725 380) - Sub-Four exclusion


 


Significant Height Revisions: 

Craig Nyth y Gigfran (SH 687 461) - The Welsh Highlands - Uchafion Cymru




Summit Relocations: 

Pen y Rhaglan Wynt (SN 739 490) - Y Pedwarau - The 400m Hills of Wales




Significant Name Changes: 

Gwales (SM 598 094 & SM 598 093) - 30-99m Twmpau

Coed Penllyn (SH 786 696) - 100m Twmpau

Mynydd Deulyn (SH 756 608) - The Welsh P15s

Rhos Swydd (SO 117 650) - 200m Twmpau

Sunday, 28 June 2026

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – The Fours – The 400m Hills of England

 

Setta Barrow (SS 725 380) – Sub-Four exclusion

There has been an exclusion from the listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Setta Barrow (SS 725 380)

The criteria for the list that this exclusion applies to are:

The FoursThe 400m Hills of England - English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list is a sub list entitled the Sub-Fours, the criteria for which are all English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 15m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is available to download in Google Doc format from the Mapping Mountains site.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The name the hill is listed by is Setta Barrow, and it is adjoined to the Dunkery Beacon group of hills, which are situated in the counties of Somerset and Devon, and it is positioned with the B3358 road to its north and minor roads to its west, south and east, and has the small community of Brayford towards the south-west.

When the Introduction to the first group of hills for the updated and revised listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was published by Mapping Mountains on the 10th September 2022, it was announced that the accompanying sub lists were being revised with the two 390m categories dispensed with and the criteria and name of the 400m Sub-Fours revised.  The one accompanying sub list is now named the Sub-Fours with its criteria being all English hills 400m and above and below 500m in height that have 15m and more and below 30m of drop. 

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

Prior to this revision this hill was listed with an estimated c 16m of drop, based on the 474m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map and an estimated c 458m col height, based on interpolation of 5m contouring between 455m – 460m that appeared on the OSMaps website. 

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

Therefore, the exclusion of this hill from Sub-Four status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 474.3m summit height and a 460.2m col height, with these values giving this hill 14.1m of drop, which is insufficient for it to be classified as a Sub-Four. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Dunkery Beacon

Name:  Setta Barrow

OS 1:50,000 map:  180

Summit Height:  474.3m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SS 72556 38070 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  460.2m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SS 72878 37491 & SS 72889 37491 (LIDAR)

Drop:  14.1m (LIDAR)

 

For the additions, deletions and reclassifications to The Fours – The 400m Hills of England reported on Mapping Mountains since the December 2013 publication of the 1st edition of this list by Europeaklist please consult the following Change Registers:

 

The Fours

 

Sub-Fours

 


Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (June 2026)              


 

Thursday, 25 June 2026

Mapping Mountains – Significant Height Revisions – The Welsh Highlands – Uchafion Cymru

 

Craig Nyth y Gigfran (SH 687 461) 

There has been a Significant Height Revision to a hill that is listed in 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 Craig Nyth y Gigfran (SH 687 461)

The criteria for the list that this height revision applies to are:

The 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.

The Welsh Highlands - Uchafion Cymru by Aled Williams and Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is listed by is Craig Nyth y Gigfran and it is adjoined to the Moelwyn Mawr group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the A470 road to its east and the A496 road to its south-east, and has the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog towards the east.

A basic levelling survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips on the 30.08.04 gave this hill 43½ft (13.3m) of drop and the hill was therefore listed with an estimated c 529m summit height and an estimated c 516m bwlch height, with both heights based on the basic levelling survey and interpolation of 10m contouring that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map. 

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

Since the original compilation of this list there have been a number of maps made available online.  Some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website.  Whilst others were digitally updated such as the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the interactive mapping on the Magic Maps and WalkLakes websites.

One of the mapping resources now available online is the WalkLakes website which hosts an interactive map originated from the Ordnance Survey Open Data programme.  This map has many spot heights not on other publicly available maps and for this hill is has a 530m summit spot height. 

Extract from the interactive mapping hosted on the WalkLakes website

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 Craig Nyth y Gigfran (SH 687 461)

LIDAR analysis gives the summit of this hill as 530.1m positioned at SH 68732 46178, and this comes within the parameters of the Significant Height Revisions used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Significant Height Revisions applies to any listed hill whose interpolated height and Ordnance Survey, Harvey or other interactive map summit spot height has a 2m or more discrepancy when compared to the survey result produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000 or analysis of data produced via LIDAR.  Also included are hills whose summit map data is missing an uppermost ring contour when compared with the data produced by the Trimble or by LIDAR analysis.

Therefore, the new listed summit height of this hill is 530.1m and this was derived from LIDAR analysis, this is 1.1m higher than the original estimated c 529m summit height and 10.1m higher than the uppermost 520m contour that appears on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and importantly this height signifies that an uppermost 530m ring contour is missing from this map.

 

ills of Wales, and are reproduced below@

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Moelwyn Mawr

Name:  Craig Nyth y Gigfran

OS 1:50,000 map:  115

Summit Height (New Height):  530.1m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 68732 46178 (LIDAR)  

Bwlch Height:  516.9m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 68649 46174 (LIDAR)

Drop:  13.2m (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (June 2026)