09.04.17
Mynydd Ketch (SJ 152 194)
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| Mynydd Ketch (SJ 152 194) |
Having had a weekend in
Nantlle I followed the graying gloom east to Llanfyllin to meet Rob Woodall and
Iain Brown to celebrate Rob’s last Powys P30.
This was going to be another phenomenal achievement amongst many others that
Rob had done, as he was to become the first known person to complete the 723
P30s listed in Powys, the greatest number of P30 hills in any county in either
Wales or England.
As my wonky right knee
may slow the ascent and as I wanted to survey the connecting bwlch for the hill,
I thought it best if I set out an hour or so before Rob and Iain and make my
own way up to the summit.
Mynydd Ketch is one of
many hills that surround the town of Llanfyllin, many are steep sided affording
elevated views and most are well worth visiting. Leaving the outskirts of the town on a right
of way beside a stream heading in to a culvert a track made its way toward the
hill and bisected a narrow paved lane with public footpaths and access to the
hill in either direction, I opted to head left and continued up the lane until
it petered out to another track. This
gave me access to the connecting bwlch of the hill. I spent quite some time assessing the lay of
land before placing the Trimble to gather data.
As it did so I stood and waited, a quiet spot to do so, positioned above
the tracks and lanes with no one around.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Mynydd Ketch |
Once five minutes of
data were collected I packed the Trimble away and walked back down to the green
track that continued swinging around the southern side of the hill, this gained
height steadily and brought me out just below the summit. By now it was decidedly chilly and before setting
the Trimble up on the high point I quickly put on my fleece coat to try and
keep warm.
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| The summit of Mynydd Ketch |
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| Gathering data at the summit of Mynydd Ketch |
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| Looking south-west from the summit |
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| The Trimble set-up position at the summit |
I remained on top for 40
– 50 minutes after the Trimble had gathered its customary five minutes of data,
soaking in the view and keeping an eye on a small segment of the track heading
out of town as soon after 5.00pm two small figures should appear on it, and at
5.15pm there they were, 15 minutes later and they appeared on the upper slopes having
chosen the quicker alternative route to the top. It was good to see Rob and Iain and be present
for another of Rob’s completions.
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| (L-R) Iain and Rob make their way toward the summit |
I videoed Rob as he
headed toward the summit and this forms a small document of another fantastic
achievement, Iain had come prepared with a bottle of whisky and we celebrated
Rob’s completion whilst the breeze quickly chilled proceedings.
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| Iain with the celebratory whisky |
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| (L-R) Rob Woodall completes the Powys P30s with Iain Brown on the summit of Mynydd Ketch |
Leaving the summit we
headed west following the path that Rob and Iain had used on their ascent and
soon we were back in Llanfyllin. The
following day I made place-name enquiries and contacted Nia Chilton whose Great
Grandfather was born at Ketch Farm and whose land the summit of this hill is
situated on. Nia told me that the hill
is known as Mynydd Ketch, which would be a cynefin name and that the older name
for the hill is Ystum Cynan or Ystum Cynen, Nia did not know which.
It was good to see Rob
and Iain and also put a name to a hill that had been previously listed as Brynelltyn. When asked about this name Nia explained that
Brynelltyn takes in the lands of Green Hall Park and these lands take in the
adjacent hill to the south-west which is named Green Hall Hill, and not the
hill that is known as Mynydd Ketch.
Survey Result:
Mynydd Ketch (significant name change)
Summit Height: 274.2m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 15299 19455
Bwlch Height: 207.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 15590 19851
Drop: 66.2m
Dominance: 24.16%
