Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

 

Castell Faen Grach (SN 726 775) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis and a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

Castell Faen Grach (SN 726 775)

The criteria for the list that this name change applies to are: 

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The hill is adjoined to the Elenydd group of hills which are situated in the central part of the Mid and West Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the Afon Rheidol and a minor road to its north and the A4120 road to its south, and has the village of Pontarfynach (Devil’s Bridge) towards the south-east. 

When the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website this hill was listed under the invented and transposed name of Bryn Tynycastell, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the South.

Bryn Tynycastell

315m

SN727775

135/147

213

Name from buildings to the South

 

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found. 

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

Since publication of these P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website there have been a number of Ordnance Survey maps made available online, some of these are historic such as the series of Six-Inch maps on the National Library of Scotland website, whilst others are current and digitally updated such as the old Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map.  One of the historic maps now available is the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map and it is this map that formed the basis for the change in this hill’s listed name. 

The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map was the first map that Ordnance Survey produced, and their publication culminated from the whole of Britain being surveyed between 1791 and 1874 and the detail gathered therein produced at a scale of one inch to the mile and published in sheet format between 1805 and 1874.  The One-Inch ‘Old Series’ maps for the whole of Wales are now available online; they are also available in map format as enlarged and re-projected versions to match the scale and dimensions of the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger series and are published by Cassini.  This series of maps form another important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names and bridge the timeframe leading up to the production of the Ordnance Survey base map of the Six-Inch series, and importantly for this hill and its listed name, it is the One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map that names the area taking in the summit of this hill as Castell Fan Grach. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' Map

For the composition of this name the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps were consulted.  This is the base map Ordnance Survey used leading to the production of the 1:10,000 Series of maps, both have now been superseded by the digitised Master Map.  The use of Fan Grach on the One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map refers to a farm positioned south-westward of the summit of this hill, and for the composition of the farm name the Six-Inch map was consulted.  This map gives the name of the farm as Faen Grach and therefore it is this composition that is being used. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Castell Faen Grach and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map with the Six-Inch map consulted for the composition. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Elenydd 

Name:  Castell Faen Grach 

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Tynycastell 

OS 1:50,000 map:  135, 147

Summit Height:  315.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)                                                       

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 72693 77587 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  276.6m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 72614 77645 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  38.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (May 2021)

 

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Elenydd

22.10.20  Castell Faen Grach (SN 726 775) 

Castell Faen Grach (SN 726 775)

With lock down restrictions in Wales coming in to force at 6.00pm on the 23^rd October, and with the weather set fine for the day and improving during the afternoon, I wanted to visit the hills for one last time before the 17 day lock down was implemented. 

The hills I chose to visit are positioned to the west and south-west of Pontarfynach (Devil’s Bridge), and it is this area that drew me back again having visited adjacent hills on two recent occasions. 

Prior to visiting I’d spent time analysing LIDAR and came prepared with a series of ten figure grid references to each summit and bwlch.  By doing so this can improve the accuracy of Trimble placement and only then requires an assessment of the land based on the LIDAR co-ordinates before setting the Trimble up. 

LIDAR image of Castell Faen Grach (SO 726 775)

I’d planned a route taking in seven hills over six walks with six of these being P30s and one being a sub.  The route would take me west of Pontarfynach before doubling back and then heading south.  Online photographs showed many of the hills to have good profiles; with reports of my first hill of the day describing it as an absolute gem and a gorgeous hill, so my expectation was high and I was not disappointed. 

Castell Faen Grach rises like a miniature Cnicht in a typical pyramidal shape and today its rusted slopes of bracken were interspersed amongst stunted trees, the greened and yellowed bushes of gorse and an array of architectured rock.  The online descriptions were certainly correct! 

The summit cone of Castell Faen Grach

I approached the hill from the south and followed a bridleway heading toward the farm of Ty’n-y-castell and from there to a small disused quarry.  Although the day’s forecast was generally fine, there was an outside chance of a shower with the afternoon brightening up.  And although any breeze blown drops of rain would not fall until later, when I set off for this first hill of the day the sky was overcast with the summits of the higher hills to the east submerged under clag. 

Leaving the bridleway I followed steepening slopes up toward the summit cone.  The easterly slopes of this hill are now given over to sheep grazing with an attractive wooded area just below, and as I gained height a number of sheep looked my way, nonchalantly munching on their morning grass. 

The area of this hill’s summit is impressive with a series of steep mounds interspersed amongst small crags and rock.  Its high point is easily found and has a small cairn on it. 

After setting the Trimble up to gather its allotted data I stood below it on one of the steep slopes and looked out to my next hill which was directly west and only 2km away, between me and it was greened pasture and a myriad of small white dotted sheep. 

Gathering data at the summit of Casttell Faen Grach

Once data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, packed it away and before heading down I looked out toward Pen y Felin Wynt (SN 725 759) and Banc (SN 721 762), the latter easily pinpointed due to the high mast close to its summit.  These would be my fifth and sixth hills of the day and although relatively close to Castell Faen Grach it would still take many hours before I stood on their summits.  Leaving the summit cone I retraced my inward route back to the car and then headed further west to the second hill of the day; Fron Ddu (SN 703 775). 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Castell Faen Grach (significant name change)  

Summit Height:  315.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 72693 77587 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  276.6m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 72614 77645 (LIDAR)

Drop:  38.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  12.22% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet