05.01.20 Lan Fawr (SN 692 501), Cerrig Cyffion (SN 689
479) and Esgair Fawr (SN 681 482)
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| Cerrig Cyffion (SN 689 479) |
Within the updated list
of the Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of
Wales, Lan Fawr has been reclassified from a 400m Sub-Pedwar to a Pedwar,
as such it is a new P30. This newly
crowned status is based on OS Maps 5m bwlch contouring and is of interest to a
number of people, including Rob Woodall, who has visited all Welsh mainland P30s;
which is an incredible achievement.
Therefore, as Rob had not visited this hill, he wanted to.
Rob arrived Saturday
evening and we were soon in The Raven enjoying an excellent meal. We were away by 7.30am on Sunday heading to
the wild landscape south of Llanddewibrefi and north of the small community of
Ffarmers.
Weather conditions were
not ideal, with mist and drizzle for the majority of the journey. However, as we set off walking the mist
hugging the opposing ridge of Garn Fawr (SN 668 502) slowly lifted and pushed
further inland.
We planned a three hill
circuit around the upper reaches of the Afon Cothi, with Lan Fawr and Cerrig
Cyffion being of particular surveying interest with both hills considered for
reclassification to Pedwar status.
Hopefully the Trimble would give a definitive result for each.
A track led from the
last farm in the valley; Blaen-Twrch, making steady progress up the
south-western flank of our first hill of the day; Lan Fawr. Encircling us gloom pervaded, with higher
summits cloaked in mist with banks of mist rolling in from the lowlands to our
south heralding intermittent drizzled conditions.
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| Heading to the hill |
We spent quite some time
at the summit of Lan Fawr taking three data sets with the last beside the
remains of a flattish cairn which was our favoured position for the high
point. During data collection a number
of sheep walked our way, standing facing us either expectant of feed or just being
inquisitive. They made an appealing
foreground to the misted hills in the distance.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Lan Fawr |
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| Being watched |
The hill’s grassed
north-eastern ridge soon led us down to a tussocky bwlch, and considering the
underfoot conditions it was relatively easy to pinpoint its all-important
position. As the Trimble gathered its
allotted data we stood back and looked out on the mass of unsavoury but nevertheless
beautiful yellow tinged land between us and the haven of green grass atop a
small ridge which would take us down to a track leading toward our second hill
of the day; Cerrig Cyffion.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Lan Fawr |
Once data were gathered
and stored I closed the Trimble down, packed it away and followed Rob as he
contoured around the upper easterly flank of Lan Fawr, eventually loosing
height down through dark browned bracken to a reed invested stream where he
easily jumped its watery depths. I
however made an unceremonious landing with my left foot slipping on the bank
and dangling over the stream which resulted in Rob trying to hold on to me and
the two of us landing heap like on the ground.
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| Leaving Lan Fawr and heading toward Cerrig Cyffion |
By now each drizzly
spell would be replaced by a semblance of clarity and semi-dryness, and
considering the surrounding conditions we were lucky as all surveys were
conducted clear of mist and it did not hamper navigation.
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| Making progress toward Cerrig Cyffion |
We gained height above
the stream with Rob unsurprisingly leading the way seemingly at only a quarter
of his normal pace as I huffed and puffed on the uphill section. A muddied track led us down to a stream
crossing where an old track led past the ruined Blaen Cothi. This old house must have been a wild place to
make a life.
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| Blaen Cothi with Cerrig Cyffion in the background |
The muddied track met a more
recent construct which wound its way around the northern and eastern flank of
Cerrig Cyffion, we soon left it and opted for a path leading up its northerly
ridge. By the time I reached the summit
Rob was standing beside one of a number of small rocks jutting out of the
ground and had declared this the high point.
The Trimble was soon aligned with this, a measurement offset taken and
away it went, gathering its allotted data.
During data collection I stood and munched on a banana, my only
sustenance of the walk.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cerrig Cyffion |
The bwlch adjoined to
Cerrig Cyffion is just to the north-west of the continuation of the track which
had wound its way higher on the hill.
This bwlch was particularly unpleasant with large tussocks
predominating. We spent a number of
minutes assessing the bwlch and visually followed the hill to hill traverse to
a point that we judged bisected the valley to valley traverse and used an
upended red animal feed bucket as an improvised tripod, and as my rucksack was
positioned on its top and the Trimble atop this it gave a 0.70m offset between
its internal antenna and the ground at its base and was sufficiently high
enough to clear the large tussocks. Just
one hill now remained.
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| Heading toward the bwlch of Cerrig Cyffion |
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Cerrig Cyffion |
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| The Trimble set-up position at the bwlch of Cerrig Cyffion |
Esgair Fawr is the
highest of the three hills we visited and between us and its summit was another
large mass of tussocks and bog. To get
there we circumvented the edge of a conifer plantation and contoured grassed
slopes toward the bwlch. This gave an
advantage point to look down and judge where the critical point lay. As Rob ventured further in to the mass of bog
and tussocks I assessed the ground and chose a spot and placed the rucksack on
top of a tussock and waited for Rob to re-join me with his assessment. He considered the position good and we both
then stood an appropriate distance away as data were gathered.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Esgair Fawr |
It was a steady plod to
the summit of Esgair Fawr and Rob was there waiting for me when I arrived. The high point is at the base of a fence that
is on top of a grassed over stone wall.
As the grassed stone wall was considered unnatural I positioned the
Trimble on what we judged the highest natural point of the hill and the day’s eighth
data set was gathered.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Esgair Fawr |
All that remained was to
join our downward track and head back to the awaiting car. However, Esgair Fawr has a twin map heighted
top which stared back at us as it balanced above a small rock carved drop. Aled had LIDARed this hill and the point that
had just been Trimbled proved to be the higher, we also thought this visually,
but as we were there, Rob suggested a last data set and soon the Trimble was
placed aligned with this tops highest point and quietly beeping away gathering
data.
Once the Trimble was
packed away we headed toward the track and its steep zig zags forever downward
to the car. It was good to get these
hills surveyed, and especially Lan Fawr and Cerrig Cyffion as these two hills
could be 400m Sub-Pedwarau or indeed Pedwarau.
It was also good to catch up with Rob, without whom I would have waited
another few months before attempting this walk which had been pencilled in as
one of this year’s priority surveys.
Survey Result:
Lan Fawr
Summit Height: 427.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 69244 50156
Bwlch Height: 398.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 69493 50467
Drop: 29.1m (Pedwar reclassified to 400m
Sub-Pedwar)
Dominance: 6.81%
Cerrig Cyffion
Summit Height: 414.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 68924 47937
Bwlch Height: 386.1m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 68829 47667
Drop: 28.7m (400m Sub-Pedwar status confirmed)
Dominance: 6.91%
Esgair Fawr
Summit Height: 412.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 68189 48249
Bwlch Height: 361.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 68287 47838
Drop: 50.9m
Dominance: 12.34%
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