18.01.25 Pt. 513.4m (SH 775 244) and Graig Fach (SH 792 249)
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| Graig Fach (SH 792 249) |
At 7.00am I was on my
laptop looking at an image of a sun symbol that according to the Met Office
would give the area around Bala continuous sunshine from approximately 9.00am –
3.00pm. I left Welshpool shortly
afterward, heading west to meet Aled on the outskirts of Dolgellau. The skies were particularly grey during this
journey with cloud cover on the higher tops as I drove through Dinas Mawddwy. I hoped the promised sunshine would
materialise, unfortunately it didn’t.
However, the hills we visited were free of cloud, and albeit slightly
chilly the conditions were good.
The walk was suggested
by Aled, who had two sub hills on his radar, both of which LIDAR gives as just
under 10m of drop. I had surveyed one of
them many years ago with my old wooden staff as having just over this
designated drop value. Both hills were
in the vicinity of their higher neighbour; Rhobell Fawr.
Meeting Aled, we left
his car in a lay-by close to the Dolgellau bi-pass and continued in mine with
Aled navigating to the narrow minor road leading off of the A494 road as it
heads north-eastward toward Bala. The minor
road joins others in this area that haphazardly meanders around this part of
the country. We soon turned right and
headed up in to the hills, only stopping to open a number of gates. I knew from past visits that the paved
section leads directly on to a good forest track and this can be followed to
its highest point between Dduallt and Rhobell Fawr. However, I hadn’t been this way in a number
of years and the forest track leading from the end of the paved minor road is
now rough, it is still driveable, but be warned, as it’s now a zig zag affair
with lots of eroded sections. We made it
up without any undue difficulty, but with hindsite it would be best to park lower
down where the forest track intersects with another track.
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| Heading for the hill |
We had two hills to aim
for and each could be accessed from another forest track that headed westward
and then south from where I parked the car.
This track was open in its upper part affording views across the intervening
valleys to the last remnants of lingering snow on the higher hills around
Cadair Idris and the Aran. However, a
blanket of greyed cloud shielded these higher tops.
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| The rock strewn slopes immediately below Graig Fach |
The track descended to
an entrance in to the forest, on our way we were passed by eleven trail bikes
as they spluttered their way through the muddied sections. On our way back Aled found one of their
number plates on the edge of the track.
This must be great fun if in to off roading trail bikes, but for the
hill walker the noise and fumes distract from an otherwise tranquil scene, and
those on the hill course undue damage to the landscape.
When the track entered
the forest we accessed the open hillside to its west through a gate. I then proceeded to follow Aled as he headed
up toward our first hill of the day. This
could be seen on the horizon forming a good looking small upthrust on the
wildly situated ridge above. This ridge
descends south-westward from the summit of Rhobell Fawr and then swings
south-eastward to crest the summit of Moel Cors y Garnedd.
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| The first hill surveyed is the bump on the ridge on the left of this photograph |
Nearing the summit I had
lingered behind and watched as Aled crested the high point, a few minutes later
and I was there beside him. It proved a
wonderful summit to be on, nestled in a wild area of open moor with just an
occasional robust stone wall that could be used for navigational purposes.
The Trimble was soon
placed on its high point, which consists of a grassy knoll atop a small outcrop
of rock. As it gathered data I sat with
Aled having a bite to eat and looked around at the wildness of the ridge as it
continued over a number of small tops, with the continuation north-eastward up
in to cloud which hugged the upper reaches of Rhobell Fawr.
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| Gathering data at the summit of the first hill surveyed (SH 775 244) |
Once allotted data were
gathered and stored, I closed the equipment down, packed it away and followed
Aled down to its connecting bwlch, which today consisted of a muddied puddle
amongst a winter bog. Prior to visiting,
Aled had LIARed both hills and although we scrutinised the area of the bwlch by
eye, we relied upon the ten figure grid reference generated by Aled’s LIDAR
analysis to zero in to the critical point of the bwlch. Again the Trimble was soon set up, this time
on my rucksack to give it elevation above its immediate surrounds. It didn’t seem to enjoy this position as it screeched
during data collection, indicating the 0.1m mark that should be achieved before
data is gathered had dropped off. In
instances like this I usually allow the equipment to gather more than the five
minutes of data that is the norm, this usually gives it chance to attain the
required 0.1m accuracy level again.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of the first hill surveyed |
Leaving the bwlch I
followed Aled as he reversed our inward route back to the edge of the forest
and our track back toward the next hill; Graig Fach, and which eventually would
lead to the awaiting car. By now I had
slowed and was consious that I was holding Aled back, so he took the Trimble
and skipped off up the track to tackle Graig Fach on his own, leaving me to
plod back on the track under this hill’s impressive southerly facade.
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| Aled heading off toward Graig Fach |
I stopped at each gate
and looked back down the track and across to the hills beyond. It was a marvellous scene of conifer, rock,
open hill, wild moor and greyness. As I
continued up the track I could now see Aled on top, at this point a forest gate
gave a slight sound as it was opened and closed; this was just to the south of
where I now was. A slight figure emerged
on to the hillside. Aled would later
confirm it was a woman who was navigating with the aid of her mobile phone and
was obviously heading up to the summit of Rhobell Fawr. As I watched she made good progress up over
the track I was on and continued on the steepening ground at the base of Graig
Fach, before disappearing around its flank.
My view of the hill was also just about to disappear as I continued up
the track with an intervening ridge obstructing any further view of this rocky
peak.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Graig Fach (SH 792 249). Photo: Aled Williams |
Arriving back at the car
I changed and waited for Aled. A woman
walking a dog soon appeared on the main track; she stopped and chatted for
quite some time. She lived in one of the
farms at the bottom of the track we had used with her husband coming from
Welshpool before moving to Dolgellau at a young age. Aled soon appeared and we continued our talk
as he got his boots off. Another woman
then appeared on the main track, she said hello and headed off on the track we
had used. It was positively busy in this
seldom visited area of Wales!
It had been a good day
on the hill, visiting a place I had not been to for a number of years, and
although due to the grey cloud cover no higher tops were on view, it was good
to be out in such a wild area of land.
Survey Result:
Pt. 513.4m
Summit Height: 513.4m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 77569 24456
Bwlch Height: 503.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 77538 24513
Drop: 9.9m
Dominance: 1.92%
Graig Fach
Summit Height: 511.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 79262 24920
Bwlch Height: 501.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 79278 24975
Drop: 10.0m (Welsh Highland Sub Reinstatement)
Dominance: 1.96%
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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