22.11.20 Moel y Llyn (SN 710 914), Moel y Llyn (SN 712
916), Pt. 508.8m (SN 716 914), Pt. 510.6m (SN 717 912), Banc Bwlch y Garreg (SN
729 918), Pt. 511.4m (SN 733 917), Esgair Fraith
(SN 738 918) and Bryn Mawr (SN 723 906)
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Moel y Llyn (SN 712 916)
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This article could be
entitled In Praise of Wellies. For me, this footwear is a necessity once autumnal
months set in and then progress in to winter.
Although my winter conversion from standard walking boots to the welly happened
many years ago, it is only after I purchased the Trimble GeoXH 6000 that their
benefits have been truly felt. These
benefits mainly consist of standing ankle deep in bog as the Trimble is gathering
data at a bwlch, and today this was in evidence and as I did so, I wondered if
I would even contemplate doing something similar in standard walking boots, my
conclusion; probably not.
Today I was out with
Aled, we met in Machynlleth and then travelled toward Aberystwyth, turning off
the main road in Tal-y-bont and following the narrow mountain road toward Nant
y Moch Reservoir. Our hills were positioned
to the north with an extra hill tagged on at the end of the walk to the
immediate south of the road if time and inclination permitted.
We were walking by
8.20am across the bog just below the road and then gaining height beside an old
boundary that contoured the adjacent hillside and headed west. The conditions were ideal, with just a light
breeze that brought a chilled feeling to the early morning, and with clear
visibility and high cloud.
The old boundary soon
turned in to a path cutting through a rocked rib and aiming toward another good
path that ascends from one of the farms in the valley below. This now led up to the bwlch between Moel y
Llyn to the west and another P30 to the east.
The northern section of
these hills were planted in conifers many years ago and as we debated where the
critical point of the bwlch lay, two trail riders roared up the track that cuts
a swathe up the periphery of the forest.
We stopped and chatted with them for a few minutes before they headed
off on a minor track through the trees.
This left me to set the Trimble up and wait for it to gather its
allotted data.
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Gathering data at the bwlch of Banc Bwlch y Garreg
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Moel y Llyn is a fine
hill; it consists of a number of tops, two of which have relatively large
ancient cairns that have been remodelled to incorporate neat modern-day hill
cairns. One of these is the high point
of the hill, the other is to its south and it was this lower summit that we now
aimed for. Once there we debated where
the Trimble should be set up, as the rocks that incorporate the ancient cairn
can now justifiably be thought of as a part of the hill, we therefore set the
Trimble up at the base of the modern cairn and left it gathering its individual
data points for six minutes.
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The higher of the Moel y Llyn summits
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Between this summit and
the higher is an attractive small lake and it is close to here that the bwlch
for the lower hill is situated. As we
walked the short distance toward it, flashes of light illuminated the higher
summit. Sunlight on the hill at this
time of year is always appealing; it accentuates the almost bleached moor and
reed grass highlighting its delicate yellowed shade. Light and shade add depth to any landscape,
and this morning I stood for a few moments captivated by the scene of lake,
rocky summit and late autumnal colour.
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Llyn Moel y Llyn
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Looking back at the lower of the two Moel y Llyn summits that were surveyed
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Once the bwlch had been
Trimbled we headed up to the highest summit of Moel y Llyn, this again consists
of a large ancient cairn that has now been remodelled to incorporate a modern
neat cairn with the added indulgence of a near triangulation pillar on it. Having chosen the spot for Trimble placement
I set the equipment up and sat behind the cairn with Aled until the allotted
five minutes of data were gathered and stored.
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Nearing the summit of Moel y Llyn
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Gathering data at the summit of Moel y Llyn
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Our route now headed
east following the edge of the northern conifer plantation surveying each
summit and bwlch as we did so. Our next
point to survey was the summit of a 511m map heighted hill. At one time this vied for the summit of the
qualifying P30, but it was usurped a number of years ago by its adjacent
top. The first summit consists of moor
grass and after it had been surveyed we headed down to its connecting bwlch
which consists of a large flattish bog.
Although wet in places it was nowhere near as bad as what we encountered
later in the walk, and once we had assessed the lay of land a point for Trimble
placement was chosen and the allotted data gathered and stored.
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Banc Bwlch y Garreg (SN 729 918)
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Only a short ascent
followed to the summit of the qualifying P30 and as I set the Trimble up on its
high point I looked further east to the continuation of our route. We had at least three further hills to visit
and survey and the edge of the forestry would lead toward the first two of these. I appreciated the time spent when the Trimble
gathered its allotted data, as this gave me a few minutes to rest and
recuperate, although all too quickly it was time to set off and head toward
sheep paths through the tussock grass that gave a semblance of semi-decent
underfoot conditions.
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Gathering data at the summit of Pt. 510.6m (SN 717 912)
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The next point to survey
was the bwlch connecting our last hill to the higher Banc Bwlch y Garreg and
this was placed in a large tussock laden bog.
As I got to grips with the tussocks Aled made a detour around the bog to
get on to drier land to its east. During
this he directed me to the lowest fence post that indicated where the critical
point of this bwlch may lie. I was on ground
just to the north of this fence in a section of land where conifers had not
been planted, or if they had, they had become water laden many years ago. The whole place consisted of large tussocks
and standing water and I spent an inordinate amount of time waiting for the
Trimble to gather its data whilst standing ankle deep in water. Walking boots would not have been appropriate
and it would have been difficult to survey such a bwlch if not wearing wellies.
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Heading toward the next bwlch
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Gathering data at the bwlch of Pt. 510.6m (SN 717 912)
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It was a slow plod to
the summit of Banc Bwlch y Garreg, as we neared its high point we each looked
in to the adjacent conifers as LIDAR gives the high point of this hill
approximately 19 metres in to the trees, this is a rogue summit as LIDAR is
prone to give on occasion in forestry.
All land headed down from the adjacent fence in to the conifers and
therefore I set the Trimble up on the summit that is easily identified and
which is free of the conifer infestation and headed the short distance to where
Aled was sitting and waited for the summit data to be gathered.
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Heading toward the summit of Banc Bwlch y Garreg
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Gathering data at the summit of Banc Bwlch y Garreg
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We were making good progress
and had two summits remaining to visit, with a third as an extra to tag on at
the end of the walk if wanted. The next
hill was further east and as its bwlch was to the north of the ridge fence
amongst unsavoury looking land and had been LIDARed by Aled, this was bi-passed
in favour of its summit. The low point
of the land between consisted of another bog but once this was delicately
stepped through all that remained was the steepening slope leading up to its top. The section of forest to the north of the
ridge fence taking in the high point of this hill has recently been felled and
the summit of the hill was over the fence amongst the debris of felled
forestry.
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Banc Bwlch y Garreg from its adjacent easterly top
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By now I was feeling
tired and knew that one more hill would be sufficient for my days
exploits. Therefore, once the Trimble
was set up and after it had gathered its allotted data we headed down toward a vehicle
track that in time would be our way back out from the hills, but before this we
headed up the same track toward the summit of Esgair Fraith, which has a map
spot height of 499m.
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Heading down toward the track with the forested hill of Esgair Fraith in the background
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We soon left the main
forest track and veered right on to a narrower track that headed up in to a
clear section of land free of forestry where the summit of Esgair Fraith is
positioned. This hill has two mounds
vying for its high point, the one further north is the higher, and this is
still thankfully free of trees. The
Trimble proceeded to gather ten minutes of data from the summit and I was thankful
for the rest.
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Aled approaching the summit of Esgair Fraith
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Gathering data at the summit of Esgair Fraith
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Once the Trimble was
packed away we retraced our inward route back across the lower mound and down
to the main forest track which in time led us all the way back to the awaiting
car.
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Heading back toward the track
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On our way down the
track I flagged down a farm vehicle and Aled proceeded to ask about names of
near hills. The farmer grazed land close
to Llyn Dwfn and Llyn Conach; this is wild and rough land, and he confirmed
many names and told us about the old estate that was sold to the Forestry
Commission. As we neared the car the
adjacent hillside was aglow with the last flickers of sunlight, this only
lasted a few minutes, but it was a welcome addition at the end of a day on the
hill.
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Late afternoon light
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However, there was one
last hill to contemplate; the 489m map heighted Bryn Mawr. I knew I wouldn’t be heading up it, but after
a quick instruction on how to operate the Trimble, Aled shot up it as I
remained at the car and got changed.
Thirty minutes after leaving the car he was back at it and he had also
gathered data from the summit.
It had been another good
day on the hill with some beautiful late autumnal light and in all eight
summits Trimbled.
Survey Result:
Moel y Llyn
Summit Height: 513.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 71075 91418
Bwlch Height: 504.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 71113 91558
Drop: 8.4m
Dominance: 1.63%
Moel y Llyn
Summit Height: 521.1m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 71264 91689 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: c 417m (interpolation)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 75214 92896 (interpolation)
Drop: 104.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and
interpolated bwlch)
Dominance: 19.97% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and
interpolated bwlch)
Pt. 508.8m
Summit Height: 508.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 71666 91458
Bwlch Height: 498.8m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 71738 91396
Drop: 10.0m
Dominance: 1.97%
Pt. 510.6m
Summit Height: 510.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 71749 91285
Bwlch Height: 476.7m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 72327 91576
Drop: 33.9m
Dominance: 6.63%
Banc Bwlch y Garreg
Summit Height: 520.0m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 72977 91812
Bwlch Height: 466.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 71556 91588
Drop: 53.7m
Dominance: 10.34%
Pt. 511.4m
Summit Height: 511.4m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 73343 91742 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 490.8m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 73790 91963(LIDAR)
Drop: 20.6m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch) (500m Sub-Twmpau addition)
Dominance: 4.02% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Esgair Fraith
Summit Height: 497.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 73893 91825 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 477m (spot height)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 73776 91929 (spot height)
Drop: 20.2m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot
height bwlch)
Dominance: 4.06% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot
height bwlch)
Bryn Mawr
Summit Height: 487.7m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 72354 90624 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 414.0m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 72436 90975 (LIDAR)
Drop: 73.7m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
Dominance: 15.11% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
