Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Yr Eifl

03.10.18  Moel y Penmaen (SH 338 386)  

As I drove north from Yr Orsedd (SH 299 270) toward Moel y Penmaen the morning’s sunshine had been replaced with a flat greying sky which had pushed eastward blanketing the higher hills. 

Approaching Moel y Penmaen Aled directed us to the track leading to Penmaen Uchaf; the farm at the south-eastern base of what was going to be our sixth hill of the day.  We decided to drive up the track and ask if we could park and visit the hill from the convenience of the farm, thankfully the framer said yes.

A green track led from the farmyard through a gate around the eastern side of the upper part of Moel y Penmaen.  To our north-east the nipple like summit of Mynydd Carnguwch stood out, monochromed against the grey sky with a lightened glimmer of sunlight piecing the greened fields in the foreground.

Heading for the summit

Mynydd Carnguwch

Leaving the green track it was only a short distance to the summit which consists of attractive patches of rock, with two vying for the high point of the hill.  I soon had the Trimble set up on what we both thought to be the highest, improvising by balancing the rear of the equipment on my glasses case to keep it horizontal.

Gathering data at the summit of Moel y Penmaen

All that remained was a second data set, this time taken from the small patch of rock that we considered lower, and as we had another hill to visit and time was pressing a two minute data set was taken, which according to Trimble is the minimum advised for an accurate result.

Gathering data at the second Trimble set-up position on Moel y Penmaen

Once the Trimble was packed away we followed our inward route down the hill and thanked the farmer for giving us permission to park and visit the hill from his farm and then headed off toward our last hill of the day; Cae Doctor (SH 304 399).

Survey Result:

Moel y Penmaen

Summit Height:  153.1m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 33804 38683 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  92.8m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 34629 39659 (LIDAR)

Drop:  60.3m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Dominance:  39.39% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales

Moel y Penmaen (SH 338 386) - Lesser Dominant addition

There has been an addition to the listing of Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales which has resulted in the hill being added to the Lesser Welsh Dominant list.  The criteria for inclusion in this category of sub list is those Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is 33% or more and below 50% of their absolute height.

The details relating to this hill’s inclusion as a Lesser Welsh Dominant hill are retrospective as it appeared in the Pen Llŷn group of hills when published on the Mapping Mountains site on the 11^th February 2016.

The hill did not appear in the original listing of Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales even though the details on the then current Ordnance Survey maps showed a 153m summit spot height and bwlch contours between 90m – 100m, with an estimated bwlch height of c 92m giving a drop of c 61m and a Dominance of 39.87% which is sufficient for inclusion into the Lesser Welsh Dominant list.

The hill is listed in the Pen Llŷn group and is placed in the Region of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1) with its Cardinal Hill being Garn Ganol (SH 364 447), and it is situated between the small communities of Boduan to the south-west and Llannor to the south-east.

If wanting to visit the hill a track to the south-east which makes its way toward a small reservoir gives easy access to the upper part of the hill which is on open access land.

The name of the hill is Moel y Penmaen and it qualifies for Lesser Welsh Dominant status based on a 153m summit and a c 92m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill c 61m of drop and 39.87% of Dominance.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pen Llŷn

Name:  Moel y Penmaen

Dominance:  39.87%

OS 1:50,000 map:  123

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 33810 38687

Summit Height:  153m

Drop Summit to Bwlch:  c 61m

Drop Bwlch to ODN:  c 92m 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2017)