05.05.16
Graig Fach (SN 821 930), Banc Bugeilyn (SN 826 924), Foel Fadian (SN 828
953) only bwlch surveyed, Bryn Llwyd (SN 835 920), Bryn yr Ŵyn
(SN 839 925), Foel Twynyn (SN 840 939) and Waun Goch
(SN 841 943)
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| Foel Fadian (SN 828 953) |
The northern Pumlumon is
a land of open big sky where during spring the accompaniment of Skylarks and a
grazing sheep are usually the only living creatures heard and seen. These hills are wonderful places where moor
and bog meet and sun drenched bleached hillsides are interspersed with the darkened
sprig of heather. It was to these hills
I ventured today; I hadn’t been this way in a number of years but had wanted to
re-visit ever since getting the Trimble as one hill in particular needed a
detailed survey.
The track to the car
park beside the beautiful lake of Glaslyn is now rutted and puddle laden and I
would no longer take anything except for a four wheel drive vehicle down
it. As I locked my car I looked at my
watch – 7.34am – a relatively early start and the slight chill set against the
blue of sky was a delicious feeling, and especially so when looking south
toward the continuation of the track to Glaslyn, as a track meandering in to
the hill is a welcoming site, one that fulfils many dreams.
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| A track to the hills - a sight that fulfills many dreams |
I’d come with a set plan
for the day and fully realised that it may be a long one as I knew there were
many surveys to conduct; 25 as it turned out, which for me and my Trimble equalled
my record.
Setting off on the track
brought back many memories from my previous visits, all good ones, memories can
be like friends on occasion where their presence evokes the past with inner
smiles and heart felt sharing’s of time gone by that is renewed with each
meeting.
The first survey of the
day was on the track, beside one of the many rutted puddles next to the
entrance to where cars can be parked to view Glaslyn. This point is the critical bwlch for Banc Bugeilyn.
As the Trimble gathered its data I stood and soaked in the scene as Foel
Fadian leapt skyward, a hill whose summit I’d surveyed when with Eryl in January 2014 shortly after getting the Trimble, and the elongated profile of Cadair Idris filled the
backdrop of mountain and moor.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Banc Bugeilyn |
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| The elongated profile of Cadair Idris with the blue waters of Glaslyn as foreground |
Passing Glaslyn its
waters shone back with a succulent blue that matched the sky, a welcoming blue,
a blue that screamed out to be noticed, a blue that foretold a good day on the
hill. I smiled at a notice close to the
lake which read ‘Conditions underfoot
away from the main path can be dangerous due to uneven and boggy ground and
visitors should be aware of tripping or falling especially around the lake.’ This sums up the wilds of the northern
Pumlumon as it can be a teense tussocky and a wee bit boggy in places.
The first hill on my
surveying to do list for the day was Graig Fach, this is a forgotten lump
beside the main track as it weaves its way in to the wilderness, it stands
forlorn of its neighbouring higher hills, probably seldom visited but it has a
beauty that comes with this, a beauty that this morning gave me a contented 50
minutes as I pottered about taking two data sets at the summit and likewise at
the bwlch. I’d only visited this hill
once before, in May 2004 and it is currently listed as a Pellennig and an
Uchaf, with the former based on remoteness and the latter based on a criteria
of 500m minimum height and 15m minimum drop.
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| Surveying for summit height and position on Graig Fach with the Aran in the background |
Rising above me to the
south-east stood Banc Bugeilyn, a great lump of moor, heather and bog whose
summit area consisted of five or six potential high points, all of which I
planned on surveying. I knew a good
narrow path existed from the track to the summit, but having visited Graig Fach
I did not want to double back to try and find it, so I plodded up its slopes
and found a sheep track taking me in the right direction, this bi-passed a
particularly large and ruddy coloured bog and led me to the steepening summit
slopes. Behind me the waters of Bugeilyn
glistened in the morning’s blue skied heat with Llechwedd Crin standing invitingly
steep above.
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| Graig Fach (SN 821 930) |
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| Llechwedd Crin (SN 816 922) rising above the waters of Bugeilyn |
Once on top I decided
that at least four potential high points needed Trimbling, I eventually took
data from five separate points and left happy in the knowledge that time had
been spent doing this as a number of people have expressed doubt over the exact
high point of this hill.
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| Gathering data from one of the five points surveyed for summit position and height on top of Banc Bugeilyn |
Beyond Banc Bugeilyn is
a drop southward in to the confines of a large and bog ridden bwlch. This bwlch was impregnated in my memory as
stretching wide and featureless. I found
that it had not changed since my last visit, I wandered to and fro assessing
the land and surprisingly it wasn’t difficult to pinpoint the approximate
position of the critical bwlch, this was at or between two stagnant pools. As I stood almost ankle deep in water I set
the Trimble up on top of my rucksack to give it elevation above the surrounding
moor and bog, and once the 0.1m accuracy level had been attained I splashed my
way a safe distance from it and tried to find relatively dry ground to stand
on.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Foel Fadian |
As the Trimble did its
stuff I noticed a white Landrover on the track to my west, two people got out
of it and made their way down steepening slopes, their voices carried toward me
in the confined and yet open space of the bwlch, I thought it a rather
comforting experience seeing another person, in this case two, a welcome
addition that took my mind away from the detail catalogued for each survey that
can become a slight burden on occasion.
I wondered who they were and what they were doing, they slowly inched
their way down the slope and disappeared from view for evermore, their purpose
and destination to remain a mystery, a metaphor for life itself as one meets /
sees so many people during the years on this earth and the vast majority are
unknown and will never be seen again.
After packing the
Trimble away I sploshed my way across the bwlch to drier ground where a sheep
track took me on to the bleached moor above the next bwlch that needed
surveying. This bwlch connects with Bryn Llwyd (this is a locally known name, used in preference to Esgair Greolen which appears on Ordnance Survey maps) and Bryn yr Ŵyn, both of which are given small uppermost
500m contour rings and no spot height on current Ordnance Survey maps. I’d surveyed these hills on 11th
July 2000 with my old wooden staff and afterward sent the results to Michael
Dewey who then included Bryn yr Ŵyn in his listing to ‘The
500-Metre Tops of England and Wales’.
I’d found on that day that the summit of Bryn yr Ŵyn
was slightly higher than that of Bryn Llwyd, this was a surprise as the
latter has a larger uppermost 500m ring contour on Ordnance Survey maps, the
difference was only 4ft which is well within the experimental error associated
with the rudimentary surveying method employed on the day. Having the Trimble enabled me to re-survey
each hill and ascertain an accurate height, and in the process confirm which is
higher and also survey the drop for the hill, which I knew would be close to
the minimum 30m required to qualify for Michael’s list.
I took three data sets from the bwlch, two on the hill to hill traverse
and one where contour interpolation suggests the critical bwlch to be
positioned. The ground hereabouts was
relatively easy to survey, and as the Trimble gathered data I luxuriated in the
warmth of the day under expansive blue sky.
During this time I looked out at the valley where I planned on walking
through after surveying the two summits of Bryn Llwyd and Bryn yr Ŵyn, this
encloses Cors yr Ebolion, which translates as the bog of the foel, the valley stretched away in to the distance,
between me and it was just moor, and more moor, a never ending wilderness where
openness predominates and lost souls can never be found.
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| One of three surveys conducted at the bwlch for what proved to be the connecting bwlch to Bryn Llwyd and not that for Bryn yr Ŵyn |
After surveying the bwlch I plodded up to the summit of Bryn Llwyd, assessed the lay of land, chose the spot to place the Trimble and set
it up to gather its customary five minutes of data. One of the joys of having the Trimble is that
the surveys can form part of an extended walk, instead of purposely going out
to survey a single hill, this may sound a rather unusual statement, but having
the Trimble enables you to do a hill walk and survey on the way, these two ways
of surveying hills are very different beasts, both have their advantages, but
due to its portability and its internal antenna, accurate data that is far
better than what is on a map or what can be estimated from contour interpolation
can be achieved with no more than a five minute data set, it’s a wonderful bit
of kit and one that has proven to be a fine addition to my hilly wanderings.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Bryn Llwyd |
After surveying the connecting bwlch between Bryn Llwyd and Bryn
yr Ŵyn I continued to the summit of the latter and proceeded to take a further three
data sets, all from the same position, the resulting data can be averaged after
processing. With three bwlch and three
summit data from Bryn yr Ŵyn and a data set from the summit of Bryn Llwyd I left a happy bunny and followed the edge of the conifer plantation that swamps
this hill’s northern slopes down to Cors yr Ebolion.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Bryn yr Ŵyn |
Once beside the bog I balanced over old pieces of fence post left to
cross a reed infested steam and walked slowly through tussocks and bog to the
safety and delights of a contouring path heading northward. Reaching the path I tried to stop my brow
from sweating and sat down on the edge of the path had a drink and a bite to
eat and took my fleece coat off for the remainder of the day. I’d been on the go for almost six hours and
still had almost three hours until I got back to my car, 25 surveys takes a lot
of time, you know!
The path proved a saviour and I had a memory that I’d been on it once
before, it led through the mayhem of moor and bog to the Nant Ddu, where it crossed
the stream and joined a track which I followed down to a large farm
building. After being in the openness of
moor for a number of hours the enclosed nature of these streams where the Nant
Ddu, Nant Goch and the Afon Clywedog meet was a surprisingly refreshing
experience, giving a different perspective for the eye to concentrate on. The waters rippled down small waterfalls and
glistened back as the sun cast down.
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| The western slopes of Y Grug |
A stout and relatively new footbridge crosses the stream below the
large barn and a gravelled track leads up on the other side. I followed the track as it narrowed and gained
height until reaching a fence, where I diverted up to the summit of Y Grug, a
520m map heighted hill that I’d visited previously and surveyed with the old
wooden staff. By now the day’s exertions
were taking their toll and as the Trimble gathered data from the summit of Y
Grug I munched on an apple and spotted my car beside the road off in the
distance.
As I left the summit my right ankle began to hurt at it rubbed against
my still relatively new walking boots, a problem I’ve faced ever since getting
them, although unwelcome I will persevere as I’ve encountered this with
previous pairs of boots and they have always bedded in over time.
The ridge of Y Grug stretches north over two other summits, both with
little prominence but as I was there and as I had the Trimble I quietly
surveyed each point in turn and eventually made it back on to the road just
over a kilometre from where my car was parked.
I only had one survey remaining to conduct, and this was close to the
road in a field and was the critical bwlch for the last summit north of Y
Grug. After packing the Trimble away I
plodded back on the road to my car, it had been an excellent day on the hill
with some interesting survey results anticipated.
Survey Result:
Graig Fach
Summit Height: 513.5m (converted to OSGM15, height from subsequent Trimble survey)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 82117 93069 (summit position from subsequent Trimble survey)
Bwlch Height: 498.8m (converted to OSGM15, height from subsequent Trimble survey)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 82314 93321 (bwlch position from subsequent Trimble survey)
Banc Bugeilyn
Summit Height: 550.1m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 82659 92441
Bwlch Height: 476.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 83158 94286
Drop: 73.3m
Dominance: 13.33%
Foel Fadian
Summit Height: 563.9m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 82831 95364 (from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)
Bwlch Height: 475.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 82848 92131
Drop: 88.9m
Dominance: 15.76%
The result of the processed
data for Bryn Llwyd and Bryn yr Ŵyn was
of sufficient interest to warrant another survey, and therefore the following
detail takes in the combined results from each survey:
Summit Grid Reference: SN 83574 92022
Bwlch Height: 471.2m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 83220 91901
Drop: 30.3m (500m Twmpau status remains)
Dominance: 6.04%
Bryn yr Ŵyn
Summit Grid Reference: SN 83919 92571
Bwlch Height: 490.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 83565 92279
Drop: 9.9m
Dominance: 1.99%
Foel Twymyn
Summit Height: 518.5m
Summit Grid Reference: SN 84054 93974 (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Height: c 512m (interpolation)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 84081 94083 (interpolation)
Drop: c 6m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and
interpolated bwlch)
Dominance: 1.25% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and
interpolated bwlch)
Waun Goch
Summit Height: 520.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 84142 94373
Bwlch Height: 508.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 84324 94975
Drop: 12.5m (500m Sub-Uchaf deletion)
Dominance: 2.40%
