21.08.18 Fan y Big (SO 036 206) and Cribyn (SO 023
213)
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| Cribyn (SO 023 213) |
The news that Fan y Big
is no longer classified as a Hewitt seemed to stir the imagination of many in
the news media with pieces in The New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago
Tribune, it also received attention from a number of British news outlets
including The Times, Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror.
BBC Wales interviewed me
on their afternoon radio show and asked me to take part in a live broadcast
from the foot of the hill which was only pulled at the last moment as a horse
had run amok in the Pembroke show and injured a number of people, therefore
their outdoor broadcast van was diverted west to cover this story.
It’s always interesting
dealing with the media, and they do seem to have a healthy appetite for such
things. However, it is only occasionally
that these news events reach the echelons of television, and for Fan y Big this
opportunity came when Channel 5 News expressed interest in filming from its
summit, and along with a representative from the Brecon Beacons National Park I
was invited to be a part of the forthcoming filming.
We met in the car park
just south of the Upper Neuadd Reservoir early in the morning, and although the
mist was low on the higher summit’s the weather forecast predicted dry
conditions and a chance for the mist to lift later in the day.
James Williams
represented the Brecon Beacons National Park, and he is their Communications
Officer, he met me with a beaming smile and said that he’d already been
interviewed on Radio 1 earlier in the morning and they wanted another interview
with him from the summit, James had come prepared with a pole and Radio 1 flag
and proved completely in tune with this news story and had written a wonderful
piece on the National Park’s website about the sad loss of one of their
Beacons.
Soon afterward Dominic
Reynolds; Channel 5 News Reporter, and Rui Costa; Channel 5 News Cameraman
arrived, after introductions and packing of last minute essentials we headed
off walking the short distance up the remainder of the tarmacked road to where a
gravelled track leads up on to open hillside.
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| (L-R) Dominic Reynolds - Channel 5 News Reporter, James Williams - Brecon Beacons National Park Communications Officer and Rui Costa - Channel 5 Cameraman |
This track leads to the
bwlch between Cribyn and Fan y Big and as we gained height it occasionally made
an appearance out of the low cloud that stubbornly hung to the higher
tops. We stopped on a couple of
occasions for Rui to get footage of us walking past the camera up the track.
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| Heading toward the connecting bwlch between Fan y Big and Cribyn |
I can remember when an
experience such as this was new for me, and I still unashamedly enjoy it, for
me it’s not the opportunity to appear in front of a camera that enthuses me as
I have arranged things like this before and taken a back seat and not appeared,
it’s the aspect of trying to enthuse other people about the hills and their
weird and wonderful classifications that attracts me, and this when coupled
with the challenge of doing so, and dealing with a different medium outside of
the usual hill bagging community gives an opportunity to light heartedly talk
about the hills and their classifications.
By the time we arrived
at the bwlch we were in mist and the prospect for good footage with extended
views from the top of Fan y Big did not look good. However, we pressed on as Dom and Rui were
operating under a strict schedule as the footage needed to be edited and sent
to London for the 5.00pm news.
On our way up the steep
flagged path leading to the summit Dom engaged with a passing walker, his
professionalism instantly took hold as he drew Lee Major in to the news about
Fan y Big, Lee was one of a number of people who Dom gently brought in to
conversation, each in turn would give their view on this hill’s sad demise.
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| Dominic interviewing Lee Major |
When we arrived on the
summit there was no extended view and plan B was put in to operation, with this
concentrating more on interviews rather than showing the dramatic landscape of
the Beacons.
However, as more people
arrived on the summit giving Dom and Rui opportunity for more interviews there
were signs that the mass of cloud and mist was slowly rising, as the drops from
the hill’s north-western slopes were now exposed as they plunged down in to Cwm
Cynwyn.
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| The mist slowly rises |
Over the next hour the
land was slowly stripped of its cloud and mist veil, this was a slow process
and not instantly dramatic in nature, but the outcome was nonetheless stunning,
and to be on top of Fan y Big and see this happen was something that will
remain with me for a long time.
This now meant that plan
A was operational and Dom and Rui went in to organisational mode, with Rui
planning what views he wanted to film, where each person should be positioned
and how the story about this hill’s sad demise should unfold.
 |
| James preparing to be interviewed by Dominic |
During this James had
numerous calls from Radio 1 and he was an absolute natural, getting instantly
in to the spirit of the story, I listened to some of the conversations and
laughed and smiled as James described how the National Park had lost one of
their Beacons, but it still remained one of the most beautiful places in Wales
to visit.
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| James with his Radio 1 flag |
When we arrived at the
summit I had set the Trimble up on the high point to gather data, and it was
still there beeping away in the background, I had little anticipation for the
data set to produce adequate data as many people who visited the summit whilst
we were there had approached it and stood beside it, I even sat beside it for a
photograph.
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| The Trimble produced a remarkable data set considering the obstructions it faced during data collection |
Miraculously the data set
proved one of the best ever gathered by the Trimble as it produced Estimated
Accuracies of 0-5cm: 100.00%, this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a
result as the norm is 5-15cm at 100.00%, the result of the day’s survey is in
good correlation with the two ten minute data sets previously gathered, these
appear below:
1st ten
minute data set: 716.800m
2nd ten
minute data set: 716.676m
55 minute data set: 716.754m
It was soon my turn to
be interviewed and I explained what a Hewitt is, who compiled the list (Alan
Dawson) and who initially analysed LIDAR data produced by the environment
agency (Aled Williams), however the part that made the final edited footage is me
owning up to having obsessional tendencies and that I would probably have to
change my nationality due to the loss of a Hewitt and Beacon.
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| (L-R) James, Dominic, Rui and me on the summit of Fan y Big. Photo: Wouter Georges |
It was now time to leave
the summit of Fan y Big as Dom and Rui were under a tight schedule and still
had much to do if the footage was to reach Channel 5 on time to make the 5.00pm
news.
When we reached the
connecting bwlch with Cribyn I shook Dom’s, Rui’s and James’ hand and thanked
them for a great day on the hill as I wanted to survey the critical bwlch and
summit of Cribyn, which until today was the only 2,000ft hill in the Beacons
that had not been Trimbled.
As they headed back down
the track toward the car park I used the contouring path around the southern
bulk of Cribyn which comes out at the bwlch between it and Pen y Fan. I placed the Trimble close to a small pool at
the bwlch and hoped that no one would walk near it as swarms of people were
appearing from all directions. Once five
minutes of data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, packed it
away and looked up at the steepening slope of Cribyn and started my slow plod
up toward its summit.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Cribyn |
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| Pen y Fan with a darkened profile |
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| The steepening slopes of Cribyn |
Behind me, Pen y Fan, as
ever, looked majestic with its north-eastern face plunging down to the upper
part of Cwm Sere, as I arrived at the summit of Cribyn two couples were
leaving, I was now thankfully alone on the summit as asking people to stand
away from the Trimble as it gathers data is not something I savour.
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| Pen y Fan |
The high point of Cribyn
is easy to identify and consists of rock, I positioned the Trimble with its internal
antenna aligned with the highest part of the hill, activated it to gather data
and stood away from it. Five minutes
later I closed it down and during this time I only asked one couple if they
minded staying where they were for the next few minutes until the Trimble had
done its stuff, they kindly obliged.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cribyn |
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| The Trimble set-up position at the summit of Cribyn |
My route down was via
the south-eastern ridge, stopping frequently to admire the views as the great
mass of upland suddenly falls away to the north, today it had no dramatic light
on it, but still transfixed me as I made progress down to the bwlch where I had
waved my goodbye’s to Dom, Rui and James a couple of hours previously.
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| Cribyn from its south-easterly ridge |
I felt tired walking
down the track back to my car, it had been a long day as I’d been up before my
4.30am alarm call and I’d been on the hill for over eight hours, but it had
also been a good day.
Survey Result:
Fan y Big
Summit Height: 716.7m (converted to OSGM15, average of three
summit surveys [two on 30.06.18 and the third on 21.08.18]) (significant height revision)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 03652 20658
Bwlch Height: 688.2m (converted to OSGM15, previously
Trimbled)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 03773 19876
Cribyn
Summit Height: 794.1m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SO 02392 21313
Bwlch Height: 666.1m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SO 01935 21152
Drop: 128.0m
Dominance: 16.12%
