Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

 

Mountain Park (SJ 094 443) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that was listed in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Mountain Park (SJ 094 443)

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

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

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 A5104 road to its north, the B5437 road to its south and the B5436 road to its east, and has the village of Carrog towards the south-east. 

This hill appeared in the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the transposed and invented name of Pen Coed Mawr, with an accompanying note stating; Name from wood to the South, and it was included in the main P30 list and given twin topped 314m map heighted summit status along with its adjacent hill positioned at SJ 091 444.

Pen Coed Mawr

314m

SJ091444

125

255/256

Name from wood to the South.

 

After the P30 lists were standardised and interpolated heights and drop values also included, this hill was listed as the priority summit with an estimated c 91m of drop based on the 314m summit spot height and an estimated c 223m bwlch height based on interpolation of 10m contouring between 220m – 230m that appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map, with its adjacent 314m twin summit given non-priority status and listed with 18m of drop based on the 314m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and the 296m bwlch spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map.  Subsequent LIDAR analysis gives the summit positioned at SJ 09125 44411 as slightly higher, therefore the summit positioned at SJ 09438 44364 loses priority twin top status and the bylchau are swapped. 

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 transpose the name of a near wood and prefix it with the word Pen.  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. 

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

As this hill comprises bounded land the Tithe map was consulted.  The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales. 

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 1873 on the Tithe map, this can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated is named as Mountain Park, with the details on the Tithe map appearing in the parish of Corwen and in the county named as Merioneth. 

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill was listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Mountain Park, and this was derived from the Tithe map. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Moel y Gamelin 

Name:  Mountain Park 

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Coed Mawr 

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Height:  313.0m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 09438 44364 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  295.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 09279 44430 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  17.3m (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips (March 2021)

 

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales

 

Mountain Park (SJ 094 443) – Trichant deletion

There has been a deletion to the list of Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Mountain Park (SJ 094 443)

The criteria for the list that this deletion applies to are: 

Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales – Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub list entitled the Sub-Trichant, with the criteria for this sub category being all Welsh hills at or above 300m and below 400m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips, with the Introduction to the list and the renaming of it appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 13^th May 2017. 

Y Trichant - The 300m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips

The name the hill is listed by is Mountain Park, and this was derived from the Tithe map, and it 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 A5104 road to its north, the B5437 road to its south and the B5436 road to its east, and has the village of Carrog towards the south-east. 

When the original 300m height band of Welsh P30 hills was published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, this hill was included in the main P30 list and given twin topped 314m map heighted summit status along with its adjacent hill positioned at SJ 091 444. 

After the P30 lists were standardised and interpolated heights and drop values also included, this hill was listed as the priority summit with an estimated c 91m of drop based on the 314m summit spot height and an estimated c 223m bwlch height based on interpolation of 10m contouring between 220m – 230m that appear on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map, with its adjacent 314m twin summit given non-priority status and listed with 18m of drop based on the 314m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and the 296m bwlch spot height that appeared on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map. 

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

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for these two summits could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

 

LIDAR gives the following detail for each summit: 

313.0m positioned at SJ 09438 44364. 

313.1m positioned at SJ 09125 44411.

 

Therefore, the deletion of this hill from prioritised Trichant status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 313.0m summit height and a 295.7m bwlch height, with these values giving this hill 17.3m of drop, which is insufficient for it to be classified as a Trichant. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Moel y Gamelin 

Name:  Mountain Park 

OS 1:50,000 map:  125

Summit Height:  313.0m (LIDAR)                                                           

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 09438 44364 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  295.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 09279 44430 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  17.3m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (February 2021)

 

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Brandy Hill

01.08.18  Mountain Park (SN 171 120)

Mountain Park (SN 171 120)

The delights of easily bagged summits that are near conveniently placed roads with parking space, and for the lower heighted hills those with access through near gates, can be viewed as little gems giving road side ticks when only a minute or two are required to park, step out on to terra-firma, walk down the road through the gate and stomp around a bit in a relatively flat field until ones conscious dictates that the highest point has probably been walked over.  Many hill baggers have probably done this during their visits to many varied summits, the worth of such an endeavour is debatable, but it is extremely convenient and affords a number of summits to be visited when ticks a-plenty can be gathered, and to a large extent this is what Suzanne and I were doing today, however it also had the element of a road trip added in for fun, and it proved interesting as my bagging colleague did not know what a Munro was, let alone a Marilyn, Hump or Tump, for me this was enlightening and Suzanne’s view of the day was not hindered by any form of bagging notion, she was out for a good day, and so was I.

Our fifth hill of the day is given the rather eloquent name of Mountain Park on the Tithe map for the field where its summit is situated, and this is the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau.

I parked in a small lay-by near the entrance track to a covered reservoir having driven a Google car on this road two nights previous.  As we sauntered across the road to an access gate a tractor chugged its way in to the opposing field trimming its boundary hedge, I thought about making place-name enquiries but as we now had limited time before heading back to Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen) where Ben; Suzanne’s youngest son was waiting for us, I decided that a quick visit and survey of the summit was the order of the day.

I’d previously analysed this hill’s summit via LIDAR and came prepared with a ten figure grid reference for its high point, Suzanne chuckled away behind me as I marched this way and that, forever playing a merry dance until the Trimble zeroed in to the high point, once at the summit I set the Trimble up atop my rucksack, measured the offset between its internal antenna and the ground below, waited for the 0.1m accuracy level to be attained before data should be logged, and once this was achieved I pressed ‘Log’ and joined Suzanne who was flat out in the field relaxing.

Gathering data at the summit of Mountain Park

Our conversation whizzed along and when I next looked at my watch 11 minutes of data were gathered, so I quickly pressed ‘Done’, closed the equipment down, packed it away and off we went toward our last hill of the day; Castell Meherin (SN 146 117).

Survey Result:

Mountain Park (significant name change)

Summit Height:  203.7m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 17181 12029

Bwlch Height:  173.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 15693 11421 (LIDAR)

Drop:  30.3m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch) (200m Sub-Twmpau reclassified to 200m Twmpau)

Dominance:  14.85% (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 200m Twmpau

Mountain Park (SN 171 120) – 200m Sub-Twmpau reclassified to 200m Twmpau

There has been confirmation of an addition to the 200m Twmpau list due to LIDAR analysis and a subsequent summit survey using the Trimble GeoXH 6000 conducted by Myrddyn Phillips, with the criteria for this list being:

200m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward. 

Prior to LIDAR analysis this hill was listed in the Hills to be surveyed sub list when the original Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, and after this sub list was standardised with interpolated heights and drop values also included it was initially listed with an estimated c 30m of drop based on an estimated summit height of c 203m and a bwlch height of 173m based on the spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.  The summit height for this hill was then revised to 204m based on the spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website, with this new value giving this hill 31m of drop.

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

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website

The land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the name of Mountain Park on the Tithe map and the hill is adjoined to the Brandy Hill group of hills, which are situated in the south-western part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B4), and is positioned with the B 4328 road to its north and has the small community of Tafarn Ysbyty (Tavernspite) towards the north-west.

As the summit of the hill is not a part of designated open access land permission to visit should be sought, for those wishing to do so access from a minor road to the south will probably be the most convenient for an ascent.

The confirmation of this hill’s reclassification to 200m Twmpau status is due to LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales. 

LIDAR image of the summit of Mountain Park

LIDAR image of the bwlch of Mountain Park

The 2m DTM LIDAR analysis gives the hill the following details:

Name:  Mountain Park

Summit Height:  203.8m

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 17181 12032

Bwlch Height:  173.5m

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 15693 11421

Drop:  30.3m

Therefore, the 203.8m LIDAR analysis for the summit position at SN 17181 12032 and the 173.5m LIDAR analysis for the bwlch position at SN 15693 11421 gives this hill 30.3m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a 200m Twmpau, with the details from the Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey being 203.7m (converted to OSGM15) summit at SN 17181 12029, giving this hill 30.3m of drop.

LIDAR image of Mountain Park

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Brandy Hill

Name:  Mountain Park

OS 1:50,000 map:  158

Summit Height:  203.7m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 17181 12029

Bwlch Height:  173.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 15693 11421 (LIDAR)

Drop:  30.3m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)


For details of the summit survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips (October 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 200m Twmpau

Mountain Park (SN 171 120)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the 200m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by LIDAR analysis, with a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey, with both conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

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 that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 200m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 200m and below 300m in height that have 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 Brandy Hill group of hills, which are situated in the south-western part of Mid and West Wales (Region B, Sub-Region B4), and is positioned with the B 4328 road to its north and has the small community of Tafarn Ysbyty (Tavernspite) towards the north-west.

Lidar image of Mountain Park

The hill appeared in the 200m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website under the name of Upper Llantydwell, with an accompanying note stating; Name from buildings to the North. 

Upper Llantydwell

200c

SN172120

158

36/177

Name from buildings to the North

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 just use the name of a farm for that of the hill.  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.

As the summit of this hill comprises bounded land the details for it were examined on the Tithe map.

The term Tithe map is generally given to a map of a Welsh or English parish or township and which was prepared after the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act.  This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods.  The Tithe maps gave names of owners and occupiers of land in each parish and importantly for place-name research they also included the name of enclosed land.  This enclosed land is usually based on a field system, however not every field is given a name, but many are and especially so in Wales.

Extract from the Tithe map

Extract from the Tithe map

The enclosed land where the summit of this hill is situated is given the number 1093 on the Tithe map, with enclosed land adjoined to it given the number 1092, these can be cross referenced against the apportionments; it is these apportionments that give the name of the owner or occupier of the land as well as the name of the land.  The land where the summit of this hill is situated has part of same given to it and this refers to the adjoined field given the number of 1092, and this is given the name of Mountain Park on the Tithe map, the details of which appear in the county named as Pembroke and in the parish of Llampeter Velfrey.

Extract from the apportionments

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 200m Twmpau is Mountain Park and this was derived from the Tithe map.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Brandy Hill

Name:  Mountain Park

 

Previously Listed Name:  Upper Llantydwell 

OS 1:50,000 map:  158

Summit Height:  203.7m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 17181 12029

Bwlch Height:  173.5m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 15693 11421 (LIDAR) 

 

Drop:  30.3m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the summit survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips (October 2018)