Saturday 9 October 2021

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Stiperstones

 

26.08.21  Hargrave Bank (SJ 312 095) 

Hargrave Bank (SJ 312 095)

Until recently this hill remained unclassified and then Joe Nuttall produced his summit analysis programme and the hill classification world was turned upside down.  One end product of the phenomenal work that Joe has done is the recently acquired status of Hargrave Bank as a Tump. 

When I saw the grid reference for this hill on the Hill Bagging website, I knew it was positioned close to where I live, and when I checked it against an Ordnance Survey map I smiled, as it is literally over the brow of the northerly part of Cefn Digoll (Long Mountain) just a few miles from Welshpool.  I’ve waited ever since to visit. 

The impetus to visit materialised when Mark Trengove suggested meeting up to visit Roundton Hill (SO 294 949) and I wondered if we could tag Hargrave Bank on as a small preliminary walk. 

Mark arrived at my home at 10.30am and we sat in the back garden with a morning coffee chatting about a variety of subjects, some related to hills, many others went off in all sorts of tangents, which can be the norm when I get enthused with conversation. 

We took two cars for each walk and found parking for the ascent of Hargrave Bank to the north-west of its summit, adjacent to a sharp bend in the paved lane that passes the hill and works its way down to the flat lands below. 

I had booked a table for two for a meal at The Raven at 6.15pm, but we were in no particular rush and with the morning clag now burnt off and the cloud broken, and the strength of early afternoon sun warming proceedings, it seemed our first walk of the day was perfectly timed. 

From our starting point an old green lane makes its way toward the west of the hill; this connects one part of the paved lane with another, passing one or two tucked away houses on the way.  The old green lane is muddied in places and narrows in its upper part.  We followed it southward with its muddied depths at contrast to the warming sunshine on the fields either side. 

The old lane leading to the hill

Leaving the quiet surrounds of the green lane we headed over a gate leading eastward on a track slowly gaining height around the upper northerly part of Hargrave Bank.  The view now opened up, in front the flatlands of the Shropshire Plain and the rising profile of The Wrekin, whilst to our left the Breiddin rising above the small community of Middletown.  With the latter an unusual perspective for me, with the profile of the Breiddin back to front compared to the view of these hills I am used to. 

The track leading toward the upper field

We left the track to gain the upper field through a gate and proceeded to follow a vehicle track through planted barley.  This shone golden and meandered in the early afternoon comforting breeze that gently blew across the hill. 

Heading toward the summit

Hargrave Bank has a triangulation pillar at its summit, with its highest point just a few metres from its base.  We assessed the lay of land and discussed where the high point lay and once decided upon, the Trimble was soon set up gathering data.  During data collection I sat beside Mark at the trig pillar looking out across to the Stiperstones and the sun kissed county of Shropshire. 

Gathering data at the summit of Hargrave Bank

Once the Trimble had done its stuff and gathered and stored summit data, I closed it down, packed it away and we reversed our inward route back down to the muddied old green lane and continued following this up to its high point, which also constitutes the col of this hill. 

The Trimble set-up position at the summit of Hargrave Bank

Again, the Trimble was soon set up gathering its all-important data.  During data collection we each stood a distance away from the equipment on opposing sides from it, as this part of the lane was used for access to a near house and led off the continuation of the paved lane we had driven on an hour or so earlier.  Thankfully no vehicles appeared and the Trimble soon gathered col data and was safely packed away. 

Gathering data at the col of Hargrave Bank

All that remained was to reverse our inward route down the green lane back to my car.  We got delayed on the way due to a buddleia bush which was festooned in butterflies, they darted this way and that, a myriad of colours, all beautiful as sunshine glinted off their delicate wings. 

A Comma enjoying a buddleia

We stopped watching the butterflies for quite some time and were soon joined by the woman whose garden the buddleia plant was a part of.  She had moved here with her husband three years ago from Sussex and seemed to be revelling in the experience.  Leaving the butterflies it was only a short distance back to the two cars and away we went, heading toward Churchstoke for our second walk of the day; the excellent Roundton Hill. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Hargrave Bank

Summit Height:  324.5m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 31297 09513  

Col Height:  294.3m (converted to OSGM15)

Col Grid Reference:  SJ 31054 09130

Drop:  30.2m

Dominance:  9.31%

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

 

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