16.07.21
Parc (SN 752 994), Ffridd Bryn Mawr (SN 750 987), Ffridd Cae Crydd (SN
749 976) and Ffridd Eithaf (SN 745 977)
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| Ffridd Eithaf (SN 745 977) |
There are times when
individual walks stand out. The reasons
why are personal to each of us, for me they centre on the unexpected. This is probably due to having an organised
nature to my hill walking and surveying, because of this I usually know the
route ahead and what to expect. Therefore,
when the unexpected happens it adds spontaneity to the walk. Today was such a day. It proved a magical experience.
The day was shared in
the company of Suzanne, a good friend who lives in Llanidloes. The forecast gave warm conditions with the
temperature nearing 30°, therefore I scrutinised maps for a suitable walk with 3 –
5 hills to visit, and relatively short in length with no more than 6 – 7
miles. I found a good circuit of five
hills just south of Machynlleth that was ideal, with the added bonus that the summit
of the last P30 had recently been relocated to an adjacent hill, and both could
be Trimbled to confirm or again relocate.
We left Llanidloes at
7.00am and headed over the mountain road to Machynlleth. When clear the views from this road extend as
far north as Yr Wyddfa, with the immediate surroundings being the ridges of the
northern Pumlumon hills. This view never
disappoints. On the way the road passes
Llyn Clywedog, today slithers of mist ebbed against the distinctive profile of
Yr Allt, I stopped the car for us to look and savour.
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| Llyn Clywedog and the distinctive profile of Yr Allt |
As the journey continued
I stopped the car on a number of occasions to do likewise, but now we were
confronted by the whole of the Dyfi valley enshrouded in mist. This stretched for miles and lapped against
those wonderful northern Pumlumon hills.
At one point it was as if the road abruptly ended and disappeared directly
in to the mist. This unexpected view
gave a wonderful start to the day.
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| The mountain road leading to Machynlleth |
Eventually we pulled ourselves
away from the view and drove down in to the mist and through Machynlleth,
before continuing to the minor road that wound its way to the start of the
walk.
As we left the car
walking back up the narrow road that I had just driven down we were in mist. The higher we walked the first vestiges of
blue sky were occasionally glimpsed out of the ethereal surrounds. It was as if summer had become alive as the
undergrowth beside the lane consisted of a myriad of flowers and greened
growth, all delicately dew laden. Gorse
bushes were intertwined with delicate spider webs, whilst singular ones
sparkled with their strands holding tear drops of dew. It was wonderful to just stop and look.
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| Gorse bushes laden with dew soaked webs |
Leaving the lane we
continued on a good track which gained height as it wound its way eastward in
to the hills. By now the sun’s heat was
breaking through the mist with the patches of blue sky becoming larger. Facing east in to the misted sun the
undergrowth beside the track took on a silvered sheen as light sparkled against
early morning dew, whilst turning to face west with the sun at one’s back this
scene altered and the silvered sheen disappeared, it was a trick of light that
we marvelled at.
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| Suzanne on the start of the track leading to the hills |
Just before breaking out
of the canopy of mist we spotted a fog bow, which for me is a rarity when on
the hill, it floated close to us, a semi-circular arch of mist backed by blue sky. Beyond was increasing heat.
We were now above the
mist, which still clung to the valley below with the great bulk of the
Tarennydd ridge dominating the north-western horizon. It had been a magical first hour, but now the
heat built up and continued to do so during the remainder of the walk.
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| Above the mist with the Tarennydd in the background |
The summit of our first
hill of the day; Parc, was only a short distance away and we left the track to
head toward its high point, which is crowned by an attractive rock outcrop. The Trimble soon had its internal antenna
aligned with the highest part of rock and once it was logging data I sat beside
Suzanne, below the equipment, in the sunshine and waited for the allotted data
to be gathered and stored.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Parc |
When planning this walk I
included the forested top of Ffridd Rhiwlwyfen (SN 757 986) but was unsure of
the best way to approach it from Ffridd Bryn Mawr; our second hill of the
day. The view from the summit of Parc
gave opportunity to work out a route as we looked directly in to the western
bulk of the hill. Its summit consists of
an attractive cone with relatively new conifers planted on it. One online log did not give encouragement to
visit, saying that a chainsaw was now needed to reach its high point. Guarding this hill were copious amounts of
bracken, now matured and no doubt waist and probably shoulder high in places. We did spot a green track that veered
northward and doubled back toward the hill’s upper ridge. The onward route to this hill looked a hot
grind and therefore it was put to one side for a singular expedition in the
future. This left three more hills for
us to visit, which in the increasingly warm conditions would be sufficient for
the day.
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| Ffridd Rhiwlwyfen from the ascent of Ffridd Cae Crydd |
Leaving the summit of
Parc we connected with a fence which led down to a good green track which went
straight over the connecting bwlch between Parc and Ffridd Bryn Mawr. Prior to visiting these hills I had examined
each with available LIDAR and this was the only bwlch not covered, so it was duly
Trimbled.
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| LIDAR image of Ffridd Eithaf and Ffridd Cae Crydd |
Having assessed the lay
of land at the bwlch I decided its critical point was at one of two positions,
each about three metres apart on the valley to valley traverse. Choosing my preferred position I set the
Trimble up, waited for it to achieve the 0.1m accuracy level before data should
be logged and once activated to gather data, I joined Suzanne who was sitting
on a rock beside another green track that veered down toward the watered realm
of Llyn Glanmerin.
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| Gathering data at the bwlch of Parc |
It was a good place to
rest, it also felt good that we had dispensed with the ascent of Ffridd
Rhiwlwyfen, it was just too warm for this hill.
Hot days on the hill are to be enjoyed, but also respected as heat can
be debilitating.
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| Ffridd Bryn Mawr (SN 750 987) |
Once the Trimble gathered
allotted data, I closed it down, packed it away and we continued up a green
track toward a gate, which gave access to the upper part of Ffridd Bryn Mawr, today
these hills sparkled green in the morning sunshine, luxuriant in their summer
growth. These hills are given over for
sheep grazing, and these creatures were still on the hill enjoying munching the
grass, but as the day progressed and the intensity of heat increased all but
the hardly few were lying in shade.
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| Parc from the ascent of Ffridd Bryn Mawr |
The summit of Ffridd
Bryn Mawr was easy to identify and consists of a small grassed knoll. As the Trimble gathered data I joined Suzanne
who was happy scouting an onward route.
At this stage we did not know whether to use a track that was not marked
on my map or a path on the opposing side of the Nant Llyn Gwr Drwg; the steam close
to Llyn Glanmerin. This lake was on view
from the first two hills we had visited and we wondered about the best way down
to it. Suzanne spotted a green track
leading down to the gravelled track not marked on my map and an easy route to
it avoiding rock and bracken that headed toward a gate. Once the Trimble was packed away we headed
down and reached the gravelled track.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Bryn Mawr |
According to the map our
onward route was on the eastern side of the stream, the gravelled track was on
its western side. However, this track
would give an easy route down toward our next two hills, but as it was not
marked on the map we did not know exactly where it went. Tantalisingly a green path left the gravelled
track aiming for the lake, so off we went down to the water’s edge.
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| Llyn Glanmerin |
What a beautiful place
Llyn Glanmerin is.
The following extract is
from The Lakes of Wales by Frank Ward (published in 1931 by Herbert Jenkins):
A pretty lake 1 mile south-east from Machynlleth, with alder,
spruce, and other trees growing on the banks.
It is formed by the damming of the Rysglog stream, and was made by the
late Lord Herbert Vane-Tempest. It is
known locally as Lord Herbert’s Lake, and was originally stocked with brown,
Loch Leven, and rainbow trout.
Apparently the rainbows have all disappeared. Glan-merin belongs to the Marquis of
Londonderry. Fishing is private.
We sat beside its waters
for quite some time, just looking and chatting and sheltering from the
sun. Swallows darted across the waters,
skimming ever lower. Fish jumped and
Water Lilly’s floated. Suzanne sat in a
rowing boat whilst I just relaxed and looked.
It was quite mesmerizing and we almost didn’t walk down to it. It proved a perfect place to rest, but we
still had two hills to visit and the midday heat was quickly approaching.
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| A beautiful place to stop and rest |
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| Water Lilly's |
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| Beside Llyn Glanmerin |
Leaving the lake we
connected with a green track through fern, in its lower section this became a
muddied track; this was easily bi-passed though on either side. The air was heavy with heat and whatever
slight breeze the tops afforded soon disappeared as height was lost.
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| The green track leading down toward Ffridd Cae Crydd and Ffridd Eithaf |
The green track was at
least shaded and eventually emerged on to a field that had a robust old barn
sitting proudly on the last vestige of greened grass. Whilst I continued around its western side,
Suzanne went inside to investigate and by doing so disturbed a barn owl. I caught a glimpse as it glided silently down
field toward a mature tree. By the time
we headed toward the tree there was no sign of it. Beyond was the continuation of the stream
emerging from the lake, at this point the stream was canopied by small
trees. We were soon sitting in shade
beside the stream resting and enjoying a bite to eat. Behind me through the trees all I could see
was increasing warmth, just blue sky, almost iridescent in its hue, a deep blue
that radiated ever increasing heat.
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| Shelter beside the stream |
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| The view of the heat from the shaded spot beside the stream |
The shelter of shade is
a wonderful thing, this is rarely necessary in the climate we experience, but
today it was sought. Eventually we left
our shaded spot beside the stream and entered the heat, slowly gaining height
to a gate and then a green track upward to a small quarried area and then
toward a corner of forestry, before which we broke off right and headed toward
the summit of Ffridd Cae Crydd. Not
surprisingly we stopped again under a small tree and sat in its shade.
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| Heading toward the shade under the tree |
It was only a short walk
from the small tree to the summit. This
hill’s high point consists of a rocky knoll and having assessed the lay of land
I positioned the Trimble atop my rucksack and it was soon quietly beeping away
gathering individual datum points.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Cae Crydd |
Just to the west of
Ffridd Cae Crydd is Ffridd Eithaf, until recent times the latter was given the
status of P30 in the 200m Twmpau list, but LIDAR gives the former as the higher. The summit heights produced by LIDAR are
given below:
Ffridd Cae Crydd: 272.190m
Ffridd Eithaf: 271.739m
Because of this the
listed summit for the P30 was relocated.
Today gave opportunity to survey each with the Trimble GeoXH 6000. Once data were gathered and stored from the
summit of Ffridd Cae Crydd, I closed the Trimble down and we continued westward
down to a fence and then up to the summit of Ffridd Eithaf, which is crowned by
a quartzite boulder, beside which is a large log hollowed out as a seat.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Ffridd Eithaf |
Scattered across the
summit area were beautiful purple mountain pansies, a delicate flower,
miniature compared to their propagated garden variety. As the upper part of the log was higher than
the top of the boulder I placed the Trimble atop my rucksack on the boulder to
give it elevation above the log, with its internal antenna aligned to the high
point of rock. After noting the
measurement offset it proceeded to gather allotted data.
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| Dotted across the summit of Ffridd Eithaf - the beautiful and delicate mountain pansy |
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| Relaxing on the log bench and enjoying the view |
With the last data set
of the day complete we sat on the log bench, chatted and enjoyed the view down
valley to the coast. We remained there
for about 15 minutes. Our downward route
was via Bryn-melyn farm and its connecting track to the valley below. Beyond the farm we cut a corner following a
sheep path and then steeply down to the narrow lane. Once on the lane we turned right and headed
down and back to the awaiting car. It
had been a hot day on the hill, but one full of wonder and rather magical in
places.
Survey Result:
Parc
Summit Height: 232.5m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 75297 99423
Bwlch Height: 200.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 75150 99131
Drop: 31.9m
Dominance: 13.72%
Ffridd Bryn Mawr (significant name change)
Summit Height: 238.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 75026 98782 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 196.0m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 75715 99369 (LIDAR)
Drop: 42.8m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Dominance: 17.94% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Ffridd Cae Crydd
Summit Height: 272.3m (converted to OSGM15, average of two
Trimble GeoXH 6000 surveys)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 74910 97692 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) (summit relocation confirmed)
Bwlch Height: 232.8m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 75107 97628 (LIDAR)
Drop: 39.4m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch) (Welsh Sub-P15 reclassified to 200m Twmpau)
Dominance: 14.49% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Ffridd Eithaf
Summit Height: 272.2m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SN 74578 97750 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 255.7m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SN 74763 97683 (LIDAR)
Drop: 16.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch) (200m Twmpau deletion)
Dominance: 6.06% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
