03.05.23 Craig Yspio (SN 780 831)
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| Craig Yspio (SN 780 831) |
Yesterday (02.05.23) I
received an email from Aled saying; There’s
another one! You are going to laugh when
you guess where it is! This related
to an addition to our Welsh Highlands –
Uchafion Cymru list. My first guess
was a hill in the Tywi forest, an area we had just visited. I was wrong, I asked for a clue and with the
aid of one of Aled’s photographs I guessed it was positioned close to Foel
Wyddon; a hill we had visited ten days ago.
I was right, and yes, I laughed.
The thought that we had visited Foel Wyddon purposely for me to bag one
of my few remaining Welsh Highland P15s, and only a few days later Aled goes
and finds another qualifying hill next to it, made me smile with partial
delight, but also a little resignation.
The hill in question is named Craig Yspio, and it looked as if it was
dramatically positioned high above the A44 road as it winds its way westward
from its high point at Eisteddfa Gurig.
Thankfully the weather
forecast was set fine for the 2nd and the following day. I contemplated visiting the hill later the
same day, but decided to visit early the following morning. Leaving Welshpool the skies were radiant blue
with a slight chilled early morning feel, they remained clear of cloud as I
drove past Newtown and toward Llanidloes.
Beyond as the road headed up toward Eisteddfa Gurig a huge grey and
murky cloud bank had descended upon the hills, I thought I should have visited
the previous day. Approaching the top of
the road I pulled in to a lay-by and closed my eyes, opening one every ten
minutes or so to see if the cloud bank had risen. Slowly the hill ridge I was keeping my eye on
appeared out of the gloom. After thirty
minutes of quiet contemplation it was time to park at Eisteddfa Gurig and put
my walking boots on.
I followed the same
track out of the farm yard that Aled and I had used a few days ago as we made
our way up toward the gate giving access to the higher slopes of Foel Wyddon. As I gained height I stopped and turned and
looked down on the adjacent house next to the farm as it nestled against the
hill side, as a glimmer of silvered colour stretched across the lower sky with
the continuing murk now above.
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| Looking back down the inward track |
By the time I reached
the gate giving access to Foel Wyddon the murk had dissipated and blue sky then
remained with me for the rest of the walk.
However, there was a chill as a breeze whisked across the land, so much
so I had my spring fleece on, hood up and winter gloves on giving warmth to my
hands.
I left the track at the
gate and once on the other side contoured the connecting bwlch with Foel Wyddon
around to its right. Land hereabouts
would quickly loose height to its south, so having found a good sheep path I
remained high whilst contouring around the hill side to eventually connect with
the fence line where felled forestry cast an undignified outlook on the other
side. The decimation of the felled
forestry was at utter odds with the beauty of the adjacent hill side, one an
imposition where gauged water laden channels and remains of tree stumps gave an
ugliness which was unwelcoming, whilst the grassland of its adjacent hill side
rolled downward in a comforting perspective with views that were now opening up
westward toward the coast.
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| Looking toward Craig Yspio from close to the connecting bwlch of Foel Wyddon |
Craig Yspio soon stared
back at me from the end of the ridge I was descending. The Ordnance Survey map indicates a public
footpath on this ridge and this is a delight to walk, it keeps close to the
ridge crest with ever expanding views southward until the newly crowned Welsh
Highland P15 of Craig Yspio rears upward.
I was soon on its
summit, which is crowned by a small patch of green grass. Once the Trimble was set up to gather its
allotted data I scampered off below the height of its internal antenna so as
not to disturb satellite reception. Once
five minutes of data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, took
a few photographs and packed it away.
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| The Trimble GeoXH 6000 set-up position at the summit of Craig Yspio |
Retracing my route down
the upper hill to its bwlch I headed straight for where, by eye, I judged the
critical point to be positioned. Once
there I checked the ten figure grid reference Aled had produced via LIDAR and
happy with the placement I again set the equipment to gather data. During data collection I stood a distance
away and scribbled all necessary details in my surveying notebook, whilst looking
up and admiring the higher ridge of Drum Peithnant to the north.
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| The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the bwlch of Craig Yspio |
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| Drum Peithnant |
Leaving the bwlch I
decided to follow the footpath up beside the fence line to where the track I
had ascended ends. Although only a short
section this would at least give me more new ground to walk on, something that
I have always enjoyed. I gained height
relatively easy, which for me these days was a surprise.
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| Back on the track heading down to Eisteddfa Gurig |
Having reached the end
of the track I headed right down over moor grass to the continuation of the
track as it heads down to Eisteddfa Gurig.
Once back in the farm yard I chatted with the farmer for a few minutes,
one of our conversation pieces was rewilding which he raised. I joked and asked if he fancied having wolves
on his land, he laughed and especially so when I mentioned that he could try
and train them to round the sheep up. It
had been a good morning on the hill with another Welsh Highland P15 visited,
just a few more to go until completion!
Survey Result:
Craig Yspio
Summit Height: 517.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 78042 83130
Bwlch Height: 502.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 78099 83176
Drop: 15.3m (Welsh Highland P15 addition)
Dominance: 2.96%
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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