Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Cowpe Moss

02.04.25  Brown Wardle (SD 898 186) 

Brown Wardle (SD 898 186)

After visiting Carr and Crags Moor (SD 893 251) John drove south through the town of Bacup and onward toward Whitworth where we found suitable parking for the start of our walk.  One of the delights of hill walking is venturing to places never previously visited, and this can apply to the areas driven through as well as the hill itself.  And on this particular drive the steep sided valleys of this part of the Pennines, with their dark stoned houses, many of which were terraced and packed closely together, were on show.  I thought it reminiscent of the south Wales valleys, but being more distinct due to the local stone and its darkened colour.

Our second and last hill of the day was Brown Wardle; this involved more ascent compared to our previous walk.  But with the weather set fine with clear blue skies we were in no particular rush.  We parked beside houses close to a steep paved road that soon turned in to a track and rose up toward Pot Oven Farm. 

The sign for Mid Longacres Farm

I now find that I only have one pace on the hill, and that is a gentle plod.  Thankfully, although the majority of the ascent was steep, it was done at a reassuredly gentle pace, with stops and chats on the way.  We soon passed the entrance to Mid Longacres Farm and continued up the track toward Pot Oven Farm.  Our route now left the track and headed toward a small gate and the open hillside above. 

Heading up the track toward Pot Oven Farm

A few paths on the grassland indicated a way up the hill; these joined nearing the high point to a more distinct path.  I put my head down and slowly gained height, only stopping occasionally to admire the view below. 

Heading up the upper part of the hill

The high point of Brown Wardle consists of a small mound about 40 metres from a prominent cairn.  As I neared the summit John pointed toward the north to the wind turbines atop Carr and Crags Moor; which had been our first hill of the day.  To our south were a series of shimmering monoliths, seemingly floating in the late afternoon haze, these were the inner city tower blocks and business premises of Manchester.  I made a mental note that I must take a photograph and regretfully forgot to do so as surveying the summit soon became the priority.

The summit area consisted of a number of small tussocks, and the ground at the base of any one could vie for the absolute high point of the hill.  To compensate for this I positioned the Trimble on a small flat rock which was level with the ground and proceeded to gather the customary five minutes of data. 

Gathering data at the summit Brown Wardle

During data collection John and Mark made their way partly down the hill.  When the last of the individual datum points were gathered and stored, I closed the equipment down, took a few photos, packed it away and headed down to where my surveying colleagues were patiently waiting.  We then retraced our inward route back to John’s car. 

Heading down toward Mark and John

All that remained was the drive back to John’s house and an evening consisting of good food and conversation, with Cowpe Lowe (SD 823 206) the last of our three planned hills waiting for us tomorrow. 

 

Survey Result:

 

Brown Wardle (significant name change)                            

Summit Height:  400.3m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SD 89820 18696 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Col Height:  349.9m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SD 90044 19103 (LIDAR)

Drop:  50.35m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  12.58% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col) 

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet