Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 200m Twmpau

Erw Penlan (SO 045 495) – 200m Sub-Twmpau addition

There has been a confirmation of an addition to the 200m Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) ranks of hills due to a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, with the survey that confirmed this addition being conducted on the 13^th June 2017.

The criteria for 200m Twmpau status is all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop, and it is the inclusion of this hill in the 200m Sub-Twmpau that has been confirmed. 

The hill did not appear in the original Welsh P30 lists on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website as it did not meet the criteria then adopted for the Hills to be surveyed sub list.  The hill was later classified and listed in the sub category after this was standardised and interpolated drop values added, and was included when the updates to the 200m Welsh P30s were published for the Mynydd Epynt group of hills on Mapping Mountains on the 25^th August 2014.  The listing this hill is now a part of is named Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) and its height, drop and status was confirmed by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.   

Prior to the survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 the hill was listed by the name of Coetgae Fawr with an estimated c 21m of drop, based on the 213m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and an estimated bwlch height of c 192m based on interpolation of bwlch contouring between 190m – 200m.

The name that this hill is being listed by is Erw Penlan (see Significant Name Changes) and it is adjoined to the Mynydd Epynt range, which is situated in the south-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2) with its Cardinal Hill being Clepyn Melyn (SN 961 464), and it is positioned above the A 483 road which is to the hill’s north and east, with the town of Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth Wells) positioned to its north.

As the hill does not form a part of designated open access land permission to visit should be sought, for those wishing to do so a public footpath connects between minor country lanes to the north and south of the hill’s summit and proceeds around the upper western part of the hill.

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Clepyn Melyn

Summit Height:  212.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Erw Penlan

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 04597 49535  

Drop:  20.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Erw Penlan (SO 045 495) now confirmed as a 200m Sub-Twmpau addition

For details on the survey that confirmed the addition of this hill to 200m Sub-Twmpau status

Myrddyn Phillips (August 2017)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Erw Penlan (SO 045 495)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 13^th June 2017.

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

200m Twmpau - All Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmapu being all Welsh hills at and above 200m and below 300m in height that have 20m and more and below 30m of drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is adjoined to the Mynydd Epynt range, this group of hills is situated in the south-eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned above the A 483 road which is to the hill’s north and east, with the town of Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth Wells) positioned to its north.

Erw Penlan (SO 045 495)

The hill did not appear in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website as it did not meet the criteria then adopted for the Hills to be surveyed sub list.  The hill was only classified and listed as Coetgae Fawr in the sub category after this was standardised with the updates to the Mynydd Epynt group of hills in the Welsh 200m P30 list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 25^th August 2014.  

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on a map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to, and used many names that seemingly applied to a hill and whose placement was nearest the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate.  This hill, or at least a part of it is named Coetgae Fawr on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps, this name when translated into English can mean the large enclosure.  The use of the word Coetgae implies that the name on the map is specific to bounded land and therefore the details for this hill were examined on the Tithe map.

The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Accessing information on the Tithe map is simplified with the use of a split screen enabling the boundary of enclosed land to be compared

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 202 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Erw Penlan on the Tithe map and described as Arable, this name can be translated as top of the enclosed acre and the land is that associated with Maes-y-cwm, which is a farm to the south-east of the hill’s summit; the details on the Tithe map appear in the county named as Radnor and in the parish of Llanddewir Cwm.

When cross referenced in the apportionments the enclosed land is named as Erw Penlan

Therefore, the hill is now listed in the 200m Twmpau as Erw Penlan, and this name was derived from the Tithe map.

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Mynydd Epynt

Name:  Erw Penlan

Previously Listed Name:  Coetgae Fawr

 

Summit Height:  212.1m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  147

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 04597 49535

  

Drop:  20.9m (converted to OSGM15)

For details on the survey of Erw Penlan

Myrddyn Phillips (August 2017)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Mynydd Epynt

13.06.17  Erw Penlan (SO 045 495) and Garth (SO 053 506)

Garth (SO 053 506)

Having visited Mynydd y Drum, Teisen Priodas and the Nant Helen Opencast Mine, followed by a survey of the critical bwlch for Fan Brycheiniog I wanted to continue testing my wonky right knee with a small walk on the way home, and to do this the delights of Garth was perfect.

For such a small heighted hill, Garth occupies commanding land above Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth Wells) and looks out over the Afon Gwy (River Wye) as it swings southward from an easterly course.  It is a hill that I wanted to visit for many years and with the weather improving and blue skies edging past the early morning grey, it was a perfect time to do so, as long as my knee withstood a few extra miles.

A series of narrow country lanes ascend the land to the south of Llanfair-ym-Muallt (Builth Wells) and adequate parking can be problematic, however I found a suitable place close to where a public footpath heads toward Newry Farm.  Within a few minutes of setting off a voice called out and told me that I was on the wrong course, I waved and double backed and chatted with an elderly woman from the farm who kindly directed me through two gates, unfastening the bailer twine wrapped around each.  She described the route that I should take; up the field, through a gate and to the top of the wood, adding that I should be careful as there may be a bull in the field.  Waving my thanks I went through the gate in to the wood, I can’t imagine many people come this way as there was little sign of a path through the wood, but it brought me out to the field where the critical bwlch of my first hill of the walk lay.

Studying the map prior to the walk I noticed that I could confirm the status of a Sub-Twmpau on my way toward Garth, this sub hill is named Coetgae Fawr on the map, this when translated into English can mean the large enclosure.  The following day when back home I studied the Tithe map and found the enclosed land where the Trimble had been placed was named Erw Penlan, which can be translated as top of the enclosed acre, and as this is where the map spot height and the Trimble was placed it is the name of this enclosed land that this hill is being listed by.

By the time I arrived at the bwlch of Garth the heat of late afternoon was beating down, I placed the Trimble on top of my rucksack to give it elevation above its immediate surrounds, measured an offset of 0.41m between its internal antenna and the ground at the base of the rucksack and waited until the 0.1m accuracy level was attained before data should be logged, once attained I quickly pressed ‘Log’ and retired to the shade under near trees.

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Garth

Garth from its critical bwlch

The summit was only a short distance above and over fields and a fence, I was too hot and sweaty and my eyesight not good enough to make sense of a small spot height on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map that I was carrying, so I headed up and judged the lay of land as I did so, I judged the high point to be over the fence at the top in the field to the immediate south of the enclosed wooded part of the hill.

After setting the Trimble up I waited for an inordinate amount of time until the 0.1m accuracy level was attained, but eventually this figure appeared on the screen and after pressing ‘Log’ the equipment beeped away gathering its individual datum points.

Gathering data at the summit of Erw Penlan

As I waited for the allotted five minutes of data to be stored I spotted two gates lower down adjacent fields that gave access toward the next bwlch.  Once the Trimble was switched off and packed away I sauntered down through the warmth of the day to a T-junction of narrow lanes and tracks, this is where the critical bwlch of Erw Penlan is placed.  I had difficulty judging where this bwlch lay, partly because my head was now frazzled by the heat but also because the camber on the lane meant that there seemed to be a slight up and down associated with both the valley to valley direction and the hill to hill direction.  Eventually I chose the spot and placed the Trimble to gather its all-important data.

The view of Garth on the descent toward the critical bwlch of Erw Penlan

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Erw Penlan

All that remained was the ascent of Garth, which proved a slow plod up a delightful path with ever expanding views.  Nearing the top a young couple overtook me; they remained on top sitting in the sun as I set the Trimble up for it to gather its last data set of the day.

The view of Erw Penlan (SO 045 495) on the ascent of Garth

I’d consulted the Hill Bagging website prior to this walk and the summit of Garth is given as ground within one metre of the base of its trig pillar.  I spent a number of minutes judging the land at the summit and asked the young couple their view, the three of us all thought that land approximately seven metres from the base of the trig was the highest, after setting the Trimble up I stood back and admired the view, which is stunning.

Gathering data at the summit of Garth

The view south toward Mynyddoedd Duon

The Trimble set-up position at the summit of Garth

After five minutes of data were gathered I switched the equipment off, packed it away, said my goodbyes to the couple and very slowly plodded down the path back to the country lane which took me back to my car.  On my way down I met another four people heading up, all out enjoying the early evening sunshine.  It took quite some time to get back to my car as my knee felt as if it wasn’t joined to my leg and each step gave a twinging sensation as pulled cartilage grinded away at the rear of my right knee.  Although my knee ached it had been another good day on the hill with lots of interesting data results to process.

LIDAR bwlch image for Garth

Postcript:  Since the Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey of Garth, LIDAR has become available and this has resulted in the bwlch moving by 4 metres in position, although the height remains the same. 

Survey Result:

Erw Penlan (significant name change)

Summit Height:  212.1m (converted to OSGM15) 

 

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 04597 49535

Bwlch Height:  191.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 04990 49608

Drop:  20.9m (200m Sub-Twmpau addition confirmed)

Dominance:  9.87%

Garth 

Summit Height:  280.3m (converted to OSGM15)  

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 05316 50618

Bwlch Height:  170.9m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 04373 49739 (LIDAR)

Drop:  109.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  39.04% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet