Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Beacon Hill

 

17.07.21  Farrington Bank (SO 305 699) 

Farrington Bank (SO 305 699) and the Spaceguard Centre

I’d visited Farrington Bank previously and when last there, Trimbled its summit.  This hill is classified as a Pedwar and the Trimble survey de-twinned it from its adjacent summit positioned beside the observatory at the Spaceguard Centre.  Each summit is given a 417m spot height on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps. 

On my last visit the summit area of Farrington Bank consisted of a closely cropped grazing field.  Today it was awash in breeze blown barley.  Prior to visiting I had contacted the Spaceguard Centre and gained permission to park and visit the triangulation pillar which is placed at the rear of the observatory.  This is close to where LIDAR gives the high point of this part of the hill, which is beside a fence and picnic table a few metres from the trig pillar.  Although the summit of Farrington Bank is higher, it is always worthwhile visiting the other top, purely as having an observatory so near the top of a hill is an experience in itself. 

I left my car parked on a flat area of land at the end of the track leading to the access gate to the upper field of Farrington Bank.  Beyond the gate was barley, which was a surprise as I expected the same closely cropped grass that I encountered on my last visit. 

Following the vehicle track through the barley on Farrington Bank

Looking toward the summit of Farrington Bank

Heading through the barley were a number of vehicle tracks, these we followed until close to the high point, which was only a short detour to get to.  Recently I’d visited a summit on the outskirts of Meifod planted in wheat.  Again a vehicle track led close to this hill’s high point and again the wheat swayed in unison with a cooling breeze.  Today the barley did likewise, it was softer than the wheat and gave a gentler feel and formed a lush crop that meandered across the hill swaying this way and that, all greened with emerald touches accentuated by the afternoon light.  It was wonderful to walk through. 

Approaching the summit of Farrington Bank

Crossing the summit of Farrington Bank

Afterward we visited the other top leaving the car in the small parking area for the observatory, and the woman who I had spoken to on the phone came out to greet us.  She told us the history of the observatory and its purpose, before we sauntered around the side of the building to visit the high point beside the fence and picnic table and then the trig pillar at the rear of the building. 

The Spaceguard Centre

Once back at the car I drove down the narrow lane to Knighton and then up the B4357 and turned on to the B4355 where I parked in a convenient lay-bi beside the road.  This gave easy access to Hawthorn Hill (SO 287 677); a Pedwar whose summit was about a mile away.  I was tempted to join Aled, but as I had visited the hill and as the heat was still uncomfortably warm I remained at the car and waved Aled off watching him disappear down the track over the connecting bwlch and out of sight up the hill. 

Aled heading off toward Hawthorn Hill

The ascent didn’t take him long.  I was happy enough waiting at the car, which was parked in shade.  I changed in to dry clothes and luxuriated in getting my walking boots off, cooling down and taking on lots of liquid.  It was good to just stop and do little.  I watched sheep doing the same in the opposing field, some hardened souls still munched in the sunlight, but the majority were slumbered down lying in shade.  It had been another good day on the hill with lots achieved.  It had also been an exceedingly warm day on the hill, with what we did just enough to enjoy and not too much to hinder. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Farrington Bank (significant name change)

Summit Height:  416.7m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 30500 69937 (from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey) (summit relocation confirmed)

Bwlch Height:  c 294m (interpolation)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 27464 69909 (interpolation)

Drop:  c 123m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch)

Dominance:  29.52% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch)

 

 

For details on the survey of Farrington Bank

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – Y Pedwarau

Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau, with the summit height, position and relocation confirmed by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 conducted by Myrddyn Phillipa and which took place on the 15^th February 2018, with the height for the lower summit substantiated from LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams.

The criteria for the list this summit relocation affects are:

Y Pedwarau - Welsh hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appeared on the 30^th January 2017. 

The name of the hill is Farrington Bank and it is situated in the Maelienydd range of hills which are also known as the Beacon Hill range, this group of hills is situated in the eastern part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and the hill is positioned with the B 4365 road to its west, and has the small town of Trefyclo (Knighton) towards the north.

Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

As the summit of the hill is not on designated open access land permission to visit should be sought, for those wishing to do so access to the hill is relatively easy from the convenience of a high minor road that leads to the access track to The Spaceguard Centre and Observatory that is positioned just to the north-east of the summit.

This hill is given twin 417m map heighted tops on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map, with the top positioned at SO 305 699 originally given priority status in the listing when published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, with an accompanying note stating Observatory & trig pillar at second top of same height: SO 307 702.  However, as the top positioned at SO 306 701 has a triangulation pillar this priority status was swapped when the list was renamed as the Y Pedwarau and published by Europeaklist in May 2013.  Both of these tops were surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, with the result from LIDAR analysis for what proved to be the lower summit also included:

416.700m (converted to OSGM15) at SO 30500 69937 (grazing pasture)

416.499m (converted to OSGM15) at SO 30645 70198 (Trimble for observatory and trig pillar)

416.5m at SO 30659 70187 (LIDAR for observatory and trig pillar)

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

Therefore as the higher top has been confirmed as the summit in the grazing pasture, this is a Summit Relocation for the hill compared to the current listing which gives the top behind the observatory beside the trig pillar as prioritised status.  The relocated summit is approximately 300 metres to the south-west of where the summit is given in the Europeaklist publication of the Y Pedwarau.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Maelienydd (Beacon Hill)

Summit Height:  416.7m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Farrington Bank

OS 1:50,000 map:  137, 148

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SO 30500 69937 

        

Drop:  c 123m

Gathering data at the summit of Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

Gathering data at the old prioritised summit of Farrington Bank (SO 306 701)

For details on the survey that relocated the summit of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (March 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau

Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau, with the summit height and its position being confirmed by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 which was conducted on the 15^th February 2018.

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

Y Pedwarau – These are the Welsh hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of the list appearing on the 30^th January 2017.

The hill is a part of the Maelienydd range, this group of hills is situated in the eastern part of Mid and West Wales and are also known as the Beacon Hill range, with the hill being encircled by a number of minor roads with the B 4365 to its west and has the small town of Trefyclo (Knighton) towards the north.

Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

The hill appeared in the 400m P30 list on Geoff Crwder’s v-g.me website under the name of Llan-wen Hill North-East Top, with the name of Llan-wen Hill appearing adjacent to a track 1km to the south-west of the listed summit on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps of the day.  

Llan-wen Hill North-East Top

417m

SO305699

137/148

201

Trig pillar at second top of same height: SO307702. Name from hill to the South-West.

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.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are inappropriate, and supplanting the name Llan-wen Hill and adding a directional element to it, is such an example, as this name has been consistently applied on Ordnance Survey maps to a 404m map heighted hill positioned at SO 296 694 to the south-west of, and separate from, the hill this article relates to. 

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 historical 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 enlarged map hosted on the Geograph website.  Two of the historical maps now available are the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map which formed the basis for the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map, and it was the former of these maps that name the hill as Farrington Bank.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map

The Draft Surveyors maps consist of the preliminary drawings made by the Ordnance Survey’s surveyors between the 1780s and 1840 and formed the basis for the first publicly available One-Inch map.  They were drawn at scales of six inches to the mile for areas considered of particular military significance and down to two inches to the mile for other areas.  Fair copies were then produced for these preliminary drawings to one inch to the mile and then copper plates were prepared for printing.  The Draft Surveyors maps for the whole of Wales are now available online and they form an important part in the study of Welsh upland place-names as they bridge the time frame between the late 18^th century and the mid-19^th century when the Ordnance Survey produced their first One-Inch maps.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau is Farrington Bank and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey Draft Surveyors map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Beacon Hill

Name:  Farrington Bank

Previously Listed Name:  Lan-wen Hill North-East Top

Summit Height:  416.7m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  137, 148

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 30500 69937

Drop:  c 123m

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

For details on the survey of Farrington Bank

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (March 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Beacon Hill

15.02.18  Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

Farrington Bank (SO 305 699)

There is a certain form of fulfilment when de-twinning twinned tops, these are the hills that according to map spot heights have summits of the same height and are adjoined to one another via a direct connecting bwlch.  Farrington Bank is such an example as it has two summits, both of which are given a 417m spot height on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.  They are aligned north-east to south-west of one another, with a conifer plantation between.  The north-east summit is crowned by a trig point given a 416.960m flush bracket height in the OS Trig Database and which is situated at the back of buildings that accommodate The Spaceguard Centre which is an observatory giving itself the moniker of The National Near Earth Objects Information Centre, whilst the 417m south-westerly summit is positioned in a closely cropped grazing field.

With an appointment to meet friends in Newtown at 6.00pm and wanting to survey the critical col of The Warren after these two tops I could not linger, so I drove up the partly rough track that leads to the observatory and parked on the grass beside the continuation of the track which gives access to the centre’s car parking area.

Leaving the car the chilled wind blew from the west, from where masses of dark winter shower clouds had, and were still, rolling in depositing sleet, snow and rain as they did so.  I’d been fortunate during the day and only experienced one snow flurry but the one now massing looked to be the largest of the day so I quickly walked toward the large field where the summit of the south-west top is situated.

I placed my rucksack where my initial preference was for the high point and quickly assembled the Trimble on top, measured the offset between its internal antenna and the ground at its base and waited for five minutes of data to be gathered and stored.  During this I had time to assess the placement and decided to take a second data set a few metres from its present position.

Gathering data at the summit of Farrington Bank

As I gathered this second data set the mass of murk forever pushed nearer and by the time I had closed the equipment down the sun had disappeared and the edge of murk was directly above, I quickly packed the Trimble away and headed back to the track and up to the observatory.

Dark clouds massing

As I walked up the access track a number of people were leaving the building, they had just had a conducted tour of the observatory, so I knocked on the door, introduced myself and asked if I could visit the trig pillar at the rear of the buildings and explained what I wanted to do.  The woman who worked at the observatory seemed pleasantly surprised that I had asked and thanked me for doing so, we chatted for a few minutes in the warmth of the building before I ventured out to have a look at the land beside the trig.

The Spaceguard Centre

The trig pillar is placed close to the side of one of the buildings and is housed in a small fenced compound that also has two picnic benches with accompanying seats.  I judged the high point of this summit was at or near to the base of the trig pillar and set the Trimble up on its top.  Thankfully it only took a couple of minutes for the Trimble to attain the 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged, and when it did so I pressed ‘Log’ and scampered behind the side of one of the buildings out of sight of the surveying equipment and on the leeward side of the snow flurry that was now skimming across the land.

Gathering data at the north-east and lower top of Farrington Bank  

Once five minutes of data were collected I switched the Trimble off and headed back to the entrance door to express my thanks to the woman from the observatory before walking down the track to my car, only one survey for the day now remained; the col of The Warren. 

Survey Result:

Farrington Bank (significant name change)

Summit Height:  416.7m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 30500 69937 (summit relocation confirmed)

Bwlch Height:  c 294m (interpolation)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 27464 69909 (interpolation)

Drop:  c 123m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch)

Dominance:  29.52% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch)

For details on the 2nd visit to Farrington Bank

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet