Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 300m Twmpau

Moel y Gôd (SJ 072 168) - 300m Sub-Twmpau reclassified to 300m Twmpau 

There has been a reclassification to the 300m Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) hill list with its confirmation as a P30 instigated by a survey with the Trimble.   The hill is situated between Llanwddyn to its west, Dolanog to its south, Llanfyllin to its east and Pen-y-bont-fawr to its north, and is positioned in the central part of the Y Berwyn.

The hill is named Moel y Gôd and the first time it ever appeared in a hill list was in 2003 when the original Welsh P30 hills under 500m in height were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website.  It was then listed in the Sub-List which was named ‘Hills to Survey’.  The reason for this was that Moel y Gôd was only given a 308m summit spot height on current maps, and meant that its qualification to the main P30 list was dependent upon bwlch contour interpolation.  As the use of interpolation did not form part of this list the hill was listed in the ‘Hills to Survey’ Sub-List.   When this list was first published on Geoff’s website it did not include a drop value for each hill, although the qualification for the main list and the Sub-List was based on drop, these values were added to the list at a later date.

When these drop values were added I also decided to include hills in the Main P30 Twmpau list through interpolation of map contours, although some of these details were passed onto Geoff, the great majority were not.  When these figures were added to the list I gave Moel y Gôd c 35m of drop and promoted it into the ranks of P30 hills.  This drop value was estimated from its 308m summit spot height and an estimated bwlch height of c 273m based on the 1:25,000 map bwlch contouring between 270m – 280m.  Even though the hill had been promoted in my list the details were never made public, so it was now time to have it Trimbled and to confirm its status via the Mapping Mountains site.

The hill can be accessed from where a public footpath contours round its northern flank; however the summit is not situated on open access land so permission to visit should be sought.  There is sufficient parking for one or two vehicles near the intersection between the B 4393 and the B 4395 which is only a short distance from the gate giving access on to the footpath.

The survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 resulted in a 307.6m (converted to OSGM15) summit height and a 270.6m (converted to OSGM15) bwlch height; these values give this hill 37.0m of drop and confirm its status as a P30 Twmpau.

The full details for the hill are:

Cardinal Hill:  Rhialgwm

Summit Height:  307.6m (converted to OSGM15)

Name:  Moel y Gôd

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 07248 16808

Drop:  37.0m (converted to OSGM15)

Moel y Gôd (SJ 07248 16808) now confirmed as a 300m Twmpau

For details on the survey that confirmed this hills 300m Twmpau status please click {here}

Myrddyn Phillips (May 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Y Berwyn

04.05.16  Moel y Gôd (SJ 072 168) 

Moel y Gôd (SJ 072 168)

Moel y Gôd is an unassuming little hill that nowadays is no more than a closely cropped grassy pasture, but it has an elegance of upper shape and quietness where its views can be appreciated without hindrance.  I approached from its north having parked beside the B 4395 close to where this road intersects with the B 4393.  Wandering down the road an occasional hum of a distant car could be heard, otherwise the whole area was still with the heat of mid-day building to the first real warmth of the year.

A track contours around this hill’s northern flank and I briefly walked on this before venturing in to the adjacent field and followed a fence line up toward the 304m map heighted northern summit.  Scattered across the land were sheep, all happy and content in the sunshine, little white dots grazing on grass.  Away to the west the high Aran stood aloof, a profiled block of mountain from this vantage point almost hovering above the landscape.

Finding the high point of the hill was an easy affair and after a few minutes on my knees assessing the lay of land from a number of directions I chose my spot, placed the Trimble on the ground and off it went collecting its customary 300 data points.

Gathering data at the summit of Moel y Gôd

Inquisitive surveying assistants

After packing the Trimble away I sauntered back over the northerly top and watched as the sheep gathered in rows marching away from me, flecks of white on an emerald green canvass.

Flecks of white on a green canvass

Once back on the road it was only a short distance to my awaiting car, this route conveniently crossed this hill’s critical bwlch, which was placed beside the road with its indicator being two water channels and a drain diagonally opposite each other. 

Having placed the Trimble on top of my rucksack to give it elevation above its surroundings and measured the offset between its internal antenna and the ground at the base of the rucksack, I waited until the accuracy level of 0.1m was attained and then pressed ‘Log’ and scampered away whilst the first of 300 data point beeps beeped away.

Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Moel y Gôd

During gathering data at the bwlch I stood a safe distance away from the equipment but positioned myself on the edge of the road and therefore the one or two cars that passed during the next five minutes of data gathering pulled out to the right hand side of the road to avoid me, this at least kept the few vehicles that passed a safe distance from the Trimble.  Once five minutes of data were gathered I packed the Trimble away and headed back to the car.

Survey Result:

Moel y Gôd

Summit Height:  307.6m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 07248 16808

Bwlch Height:  270.6 (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 07121 17185

Drop:  37.0m (Sub-Trichant reclassified to Trichant)

Dominance:  12.04%

For further details please consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet click {here}