28.02.15 Ynys Galch
(SH 567 393)
Ynys Galch (SH 567 393) |
With a forecast of rain
sweeping in from the west I met Aled in Porthmadog for another magical mystery
tour of the Traeth Mawr islands. But as
the afternoon looked as if it was going to be very wet, I had been pre-warmed
that the day’s tour was only going to be to some of the smaller islands. However, they didn’t disappoint.
We parked opposite the
Porthmadog War Memorial which constitutes a 16ft (4.9m) high Celtic cross and
which was unveiled in 1922 and Grade II listed in 2005.
The Porthmadog War Memorial gives access to the summit of Ynys Galch |
The Celtic cross of the War
Memorial dominates a small rocky hillock which in its time would have been an
inland island before the land of Traeth Mawr was reclaimed from the tidal swell
of the sea with the building of the Cob.
The island’s name is Ynys Galch.
We crossed the busy road and
walked up the 70 metre semi-circular walk way to the Memorial. The view from beside it was negligible as the
land was bathed in low grey murk, a foreteller of the high winds and heavy
sweeping rain that would set in soon after we had completed our island
adventure.
Aled led the way beyond the
memorial, and as we left the sedate confines of tarmacked path and Celtic cross
I looked ahead and all I could see were thickening Holly bushes and trees. By keeping near to the crest of the hillock
we quickly made progress, however we had to venture down on the northern side
once, as the vegetation proved so thick that the only way to make progress on
the crest of the island was to use a small sapling tree and swing around it to
gain slightly clearer ground on its other side, as the tree was perched over a
15m drop we quickly backtracked.
Entering the labyrinth |
Somewhere in the distance is the summit |
Once through more Holly bushes
we came to the high point which is in a small clearing measuring about one
metre square and consisting of scrub ground overlooked by a gorse bush and
trees. I set the Trimble up and we
waited, eventually it reached the required 0.1m accuracy before data can be logged,
and once five minutes of data had been collected I packed it away and we
re-traced our steps back through the undergrowth to the awaiting car.
I’d driven past this small island on countless journeys in the past but had never really paid its existence much thought. If visiting the islands of Traeth Mawr is should be included, as should the next one we visited.
Gathering data at the summit of Ynys Galch |
Survey Result:
Ynys Galch
Summit Height: 19.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 56794 39309
Drop: 18.0m
Dominance: 91.51%
Dominance: 91.51%
For further details please
consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}
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