Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Hafod Mountain (SJ 211 630)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height and its location confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips on the 18^th December 2019 and the bwlch height and its location, the drop and status of the hill derived from detail on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.

The summit of Hafod Mountain (SJ 211 630)

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

200m Twmpau - 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, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is adjoined to the Moel y Gamelin group of hills, which are situated in the north-eastern part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A2), and it is positioned with the A494 road to its south and minor roads to its west, north and east, and has the village of Gwernymynydd towards the south.

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

The hill appeared in the original 200m Welsh P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the partly invented and transposed name of Bryn Gwernymynydd, with an accompanying note stating; Name from village to the South.

Bryn Gwernymynydd

285m

SJ212631

117

265

Name from village to the South

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance use the name of a village and precede it with the word Bryn.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found.

After surveying the summit of this hill I called at a number of houses on my way back to my car and was directed toward Hafod Issa Parc Arthur farm and Jo Owen.  It is Jo who grazes sheep on the land where the summit of this hill is situated.

Jo Owen of Hafod Issa Parc Arthur farm

I was soon standing in the farm yard talking with Jo and having explained my interest in the hill and its name, she told me that her Grandmother moved to the area in 1938 and worked and lived at Plas Hafod (SJ 213 634).  We could see the upper part of the hill from the farm and Jo said that it’s known as Hafod Mountain and that a part of the hill that is farther over and lower is known as Hafod Moor and explained that when the lead mines were operating in the 1800s the hill was known as Mold Mountain.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Hafod Mountain

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Hafod Mountain, and this was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Moel y Gamelin

Name:  Hafod Mountain

Previously Listed Name:  Bryn Gwernymynydd

OS 1:50,000 map:  117

Summit Height:  285.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 21171 63090

Bwlch Height:  241m (spot height)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 21185 62473 (spot height)

 

Drop:  45m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot height bwlch)

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2020)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Moel y Gamelin

18.12.19  Hafod Mountain (SJ 211 630)  

The summit area of Hafod Mountain (SJ 211 630)

My last of four hills of the day proved to be an absolute delight, with an attractive summit and the all-pervading low greyed murk of the morning giving way to clearing conditions.

I parked in a housing estate in Gwernymynydd just to the south of the hill, where a public footpathed track leads up between houses to the open higher grazing fields where blacked sheep interspersed with their all prevalent white cousins’ adding variety to the patchwork of white flecks that pre-dominate most Welsh grazing scenes.

The track continued toward Plas Hafod with the summit of the hill to its west.  Having gained height beyond the last few houses I soon left it and followed sheep tracks across the adjacent field toward bronzed bracken which followed the crest of the hill’s broad higher ridge and this was a delight to reach after the murked clag of early morning.

The bracken led to a small cragged escarpment with mature trees adding variety to an increasingly beautiful scene.  The summit is a part of the cragged rock, with two points vying for the accolade of highest point.  I spent a few minutes aligning one with the other and judged the most southerly the higher.

I set the Trimble up aligned with the high point and faced it north-westward and a long wait then developed.  By now the wind had increased in strength and whilst waiting for the 0.1m accuracy level to be attained before data should be logged I sheltered in the lee of one of the mature trees, scampering back to the Trimble every five minutes or so to check its progress, after 15 minutes I closed it off and re-aligned it, again with its internal antenna placed on the very highest bit of rock, but this time facing southward and within a few minutes the 0.1m accuracy level appeared and I quickly oppressed ‘Log’ and scampered back to the shelter of the tree.

The first attempt at gathering data from the summit of Hafod Mountain

After allotted data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down and looked east toward a mass of murk which was again descending on near hills.  It seemed a good time to leave the hill, but I also wanted to make place-name enquiries as this hill does not possess a map name and I hoped to find the local farmer who would in all probability know the name of the hill.

Gathering data at the summit of Hafod Mountain

Having retraced my route back to the track I then called at three houses.  No one was in at the first but I talked with a woman at the next and Tony Carsley at the third.  Both were helpful and directed me further down the road in Gwernymynydd to Jo Owen and her farm.  It is Jo who grazes this hill.

Jo’s farm was only a short drive through Gwernymynydd and I was soon in her farmyard talking about the hill and its name.  Jo grazes this land and told me the hill is known as Hafod Mountain, I’d already been given the name of Hafod Moor, and Jo explained that this is lower on the hill.

It was good to finally be given a name for this hill, and happy in the knowledge that I’d visited all hills I’d wanted to and with the grey murk now developing in to rain I drove the short distance toward Mold and waited for Mark’s arrival before we headed to Beddgelert to meet Aled for a pre-Christmas evening meal.

Survey Result:

Hafod Mountain (significant name change)

Summit Height:  285.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 21171 63090 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  241m (spot height)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 21185 62473 (spot height)

Drop:  45m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot height bwlch)

Dominance:  15.17% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot height bwlch)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet