Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Carnedd Wen

06.09.23  Castell Dolforwyn (SO 151 950) 

Castell Dolforwyn (SO 151 950)

Castell Dolforwyn sits atop a hill that from the near main road is shrouded by trees.  I had only visited once before; in February 2004 when combining this hill with a number of other P30s to its north-west.  Other than prior knowledge of its position and/or the small signpost pointing toward it from the road to its east, it would be all too easy not to know that one of Wales’ most important ancient castles is positioned near-by. 

Text from the information board at the small car park

The castle was built in 1273 by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd on the Welsh side of the Afon Hafren (River Severn), with the castle at Montgomery only a few miles away on the English side of the river and very much a part of the lordships associated with the English crown.

The information board beside the narrow lane leading to the small car park

Its occupation by Llywelyn was short lived as defiance toward the English crown resulted in a siege and following surrender of the castle in 1277.  It was then occupied and reinforced by Marcher Lord Roger Mortimer, before falling in to disrepair and abandonment in the 14^th century.  Today its remains are evocative, standing as one of the last vestiges of Welsh Princedom in this part of the country. 

A brief history of the castle

With business to attend to in Newtown and the prospect of a forested top to visit this upcoming Saturday, and the forecast for warm conditions I thought a small walk to a single hill on my way home to Welshpool was in order, and Castell Dolforwyn ticked all boxes.

I pulled up at the small parking area to the east of the summit and was walking by 10.15am.  The path from this direction leads through a gate and then steeply up a track with embedded stone giving grip for vehicle access to Yewtree Cottage, which could be seen clinging to the hillside from the car park below. 

One of many butterflies flitting about in the morning's sun

The hedgerows were awash in greenery with a myriad of butterflies flitting about in the morning sun.  The track veered leftward and then gradually gained height until beside the cottage, from here a gate accesses the upper track which eventually leads to the remains of the castle. 

The track leading to the castle

The sky was ablaze with blue as I approached the stone work of the exterior walls, it was already warm and I was glad that the uphill was now over with.  Prior to the visit I had used LIDAR to determine the height and position of the summit and its connecting bwlch and had come prepared with the relevant ten figure grid references.

LIDAR gives two high points 1.1cm apart in height.  The first one that I approached looked higher.  However, it is reported that the upper hill was levelled to accommodate the building of the castle, so any semblance of a natural high point is only what remains today.  Before positioning the Trimble to gather its first data set I wandered parts of the castle and looked back toward the spot the Trimble was now placed upon, and it was soon set to gather its allotted data. 

Gathering data at the summit of Castell Dolforwyn

This high point matched the LIDAR co-ordinates for the summit.  As the Trimble quietly beeped away gathering its all-important summit data I sat on one of the stone walls and waited for the five minutes of data to be stored.

Once data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down and immediately activated it again as I headed toward the second LIDAR top, this proved to be on a gravelled section at the north-easterly part of the castle, I quickly dismissed this as unnatural and backtracked to a slight grassy rise between the two points. 

LIDAR summit image of Castell Dolforwyn

This second position is given lower by LIDAR, but now here I wanted a comparison of Trimble data with the gravelled section dismissed as a recent man-made construct.  During data collection the castle surrounds remained quiet, with only the occasional sound of a bird and the tree scampering of a squirrel. 

Gathering data at the second point surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000

Once the equipment was packed away I wandered around the castle, reading the various information boards as I did so.  Leaving the inner castle I then walked the perimeter of the exterior walls at their immediate base.  This gave a good and different perspective to the castle and I would recommend doing this to any visitor. 

Part of the exterior wall

An information board in the interior of the castle

The south-west corner of the castle

By the time I left and headed back down the rack it was getting increasing warmer, but I was in no rush and the going was easy.  Back at my car I talked with a Dutch couple who were touring Wales for the week.  We chatted for ten minutes or more before they set off up the steep track toward the castle; I recommended taking lots of water as it was now decidedly hot.  

 

Survey Result:

 

Castell Dolforwyn (significant name change)

Summit Height:  228.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000) (significant height revision)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 15189 95016 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  188.1m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 14988 95278 (LIDAR)

Drop:  40.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  17.68% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

                                       

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet