Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – The Welsh P15s

 

Newry (SO 048 504) – Welsh P15 reclassified to Welsh Sub-P15 

There has been a reclassification to the list of The Welsh P15s, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Newry (SO 048 504)

The criteria for the list that this reclassification applies to are:

The Welsh P15s – Welsh hills with 15m minimum drop, irrespective of their height, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Welsh Sub-P15s, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills with 14m or more and below 15m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 10^th May 2019. 

The Welsh P15s by Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is now listed by is Newry, and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Epynt group of hills, which are situated in the central part of South Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with the A470 road to its north and east, a minor road to its west and the B4520 road farther to its west, and has the town of Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth Wells) towards the north-west.

When the listing that became known as The Welsh P15s was being compiled, this hill was included in the main list with an estimated c 15m of drop, based on the 193m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and an estimated c 178m bwlch height, based on interpolation of 10m contouring between 170m – 180m. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

Therefore, the reclassification of this hill to Welsh Sub-P15 status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 193.7m summit height and a 179.4m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 14.2m 0f drop, which is insufficient for it to be classified as a Welsh P15. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Mynydd Epynt 

Name:  Newry 

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Height:  193.7m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 04821 50490 & SO 04822 50491 & SO 04821 50493 (LIDAR)

Bwlch Height:  179.4m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 04920 50451 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  14.2m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (December 2025)