04.05.16 Cae Canol (SJ 098 172)
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| Cae Canol (SJ 098 172) |
Having previously
visited Craig Garth Bwlch (SJ 018 181) and Moel y Gôd
(SJ 072 168) I wanted a leisurely stroll to the top of another small hill to
round off the day’s activities. Over the
years I’d visited a number of P30s between Llanfyllin and Llanwddyn but a 323m
map heighted hill at SJ 098 172 had escaped my attention.
I parked relatively high
on a minor lane beside the entrance to Cefnllwyni, a rather grand and well-kept
house that now offers Bed and Breakfast.
A public footpath makes its way westward from this point toward
Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa, I chose the left track of two and hoped that this was
the path. As the track rounded the back
of Cefnllwyni I had my doubts and this was soon confirmed by the owner of the
house. We chatted for ten minutes or so,
he’d lived there for twenty years having moved from Cheshire, I asked about the
name of his house and whether he’d ever heard the hill being called the same
name, he said he hadn’t and that he’d never heard a name for the hill. I explained what I hoped to do, and he kindly
directed me over a fence, through a gate in to a field and toward the top of
the hill. I later checked the Tithe map and the field where the summit of this hill is situated is named Cae Canol, and this is now being used for its listed name.
Once in the field the
land opened up with extensive views in all directions, but it was the high Aran
that my gaze concentrated on, these are wonderful mountains and form a block of
rock set against rolling hills when seen from this vantage point.
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| The high Aran dominating the view beyond the foreground of rolling landscape |
On my way to the summit
I passed a number of sheep lolled asleep in the afternoon sunshine, seemingly
oblivious to my presence as my camera’s shutter clicked and I quietly moved on
trying not to disturb their slumber.
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| Asleep in the afternoon sunshine |
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| Enjoying the day |
I took data from three
separate points with two vying for the hill’s high point. During this time my mind wandered and
examined one or two perplexing and interesting things currently on the go in my
life, it seems doing this in the environment of a hill walk is ideal as it
affords a certain uncluttering of periphery detail where one’s mind can concentrate
on the subject at hand. This thought
process is more evident when surveying as extended time spent in one place usually
takes place, during this time one can stand motionless in thought which can be
a wonderful, fulfilling and constructive process.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cae Canol |
Having gathered summit
data I followed the hill’s north-westerly summit fence toward where it
intersects with the public footpath and followed this westward toward the area
of this hill’s bwlch. I found this to be
in a field where a lively horse was resident.
I tried to go about my business in a quiet and non-confrontational way
and a few minutes later had gathered another two data sets, all in view of the
horse and a house from where voices emanated.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Cae Canol |
Once happy that my day’s
data gathering had been completed I packed the Trimble away and followed the
footpath back over the hill and down toward Cefnllwyni, stopping for another
chat with the owner who was out gardening next to his manicured lawn.
Survey Result:
Summit Height: 323.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 09866 17255 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 282.2m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 09267 17553 (LIDAR)
Drop: 41.0m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
Dominance: 12.68% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
For further details please
consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}
