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

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538) – Lesser Dominant addition

There has been an addition to the list of the Y Trechol – The Dominant Hills of Wales, with the summit height and it location confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips on the 5^th April 2016, and the bwlch height and its location, the drop, dominance and status of the hill confirmed by LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Chris Crocker and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips.

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538)

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

Y Trechol - The Dominant Hills of Wales - Welsh P30 hills whose prominence  equal or exceed half that of their absolute height.  With the criteria for Lesser Dominant status being those additional Welsh P30 hills whose prominence is between one third and half that of their absolute height, with the Introduction to the Mapping Mountains publication of this list appearing on the 3^rd December 2015, and the list is now available in its entirety on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

The name the hill is Pandy Bank and it is adjoined to the Bryniau Clwyd 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 B5425 road to its west and the A483 road to its east with the Afon Alun (River Alyn) to its west and east, and has the town of Wrecsam (Wrexham) towards the south.

When the original 100m height band of Welsh P30 hills were published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website this hill was not included in the main P30 list as contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps of the day did not give the hill any contours of note.  The hill is the bi-product of mine spoil deposited from the Gresford Colliery and therefore the practice used in these two mapping scales is to show such land as a blank space on the map. 

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

The details for this hill were re-examined when the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which is entitled the Interactive Coverage Map became available online.  This mapping has many spot heights not on other publicly available Ordnance Survey maps, and for the area taking in this hill it has contours at 5m intervals with an uppermost contour of 105m and bwlch contouring between 70m – 75m, with interpolation giving this hill an estimated c 34m of drop.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local hosted on the Geograph website and which is entitled the Interactive Coverage Map

The details on the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local prompted a survey conducted with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, resulting in a 105.4m summit height and when coupled with an estimated bwlch height of c 71m it gave this hill c 34m of drop and 32.61% dominance.

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for the bwlch of this hill 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 image of Pandy Bank

Therefore, the addition of Pandy Bank to Lesser Dominant status is due to LIDAR bwlch analysis coupled with a Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey, resulting in a 105.4m summit height positioned at SJ 33630 53882 and a 70.2m bwlch height positioned at SJ 33704 53783, with these values giving this hill 35.1m of drop and 33.34% dominance, which is sufficient for Lesser Dominant status.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Bryniau Clwyd

Name:  Pandy Bank

OS 1:50,000 map:  117

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 33630 53882

Summit Height:  105.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 33704 53783 (LIDAR)

Drop Summit to Bwlch:  35.1m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Drop Bwlch to ODN:  70.2m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  33.34% (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the summit survey of Pandy Bank

Myrddyn Phillips (December 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – 100m Twmpau

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is now listed in the 100m Twmpau, with the summit height confirmed by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 which took place on the 5^th April 2016, and the bwlch height confirmed by LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Chris Crocker and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips. 

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

100m Twmpau - All Welsh hills at and above 100m and below 200m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.

The hill is a part of the Bryniau Clwyd range; this group of hills are situated in the north-eastern part of north Wales.  The hill is positioned above the busy A 483 road to its east and the Afon Alun (River Alyn) to its west, and is situated above the Gresford Industrial Park on the northern periphery of Wrecsam (Wrexham).

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538)

Prior to the survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 the hill was not classified as it had not appeared in any known listing of hills.  Therefore, although there is no change in this hill’s listed name it is worth categorising under the heading of Significant Name Changes as the name this hill is now listed by comes from local enquiry.

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

Extract from the Ordnance Survey enlarged map on the Geograph website

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the 100m Twmpau is Pandy Bank, and this is the preferred locally known name for the hill and it is derived from it being positioned beside the community of Pandy.  The hill is the relic of mining waste which was deposited from the old Gresford Colliery, with the second element of the name given to local hills that are the product of mine spoil. 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Bryniau Clwyd

Name:  Pandy Bank

OS 1:50,000 map:  117

Previously Listed Name:  Not previously classified 

Summit Height:  105.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 33630 53882

Bwlch Height:  70.3m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 33704 53783 (LIDAR) 

 

Drop:  35.1m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

For details on the summit survey of Pandy Bank

Myrddyn Phillips (November 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – 100m Twmpau

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538) - 100m Twmpau addition

There has been an addition to the 100m Twmpau (thirty welsh metre prominences and upward) hill list instigated by a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.   The hill is situated on the northern outskirts of Wrecsam (Wrexham) overlooking the community of Pandy, in the easterly part of the Bryniau Clwyd range of hills.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey that resulted in this hill’s inclusion as a 100m Twmpau was conducted in the afternoon on the 5^th April 2016 in good, dry and sometimes bright conditions.  With the bwlch height subsequently ascertained from LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Chris Crocker and latterly by Myrddyn Phillips.  

The hill can be accessed from its north from the end of the Pont y Capel Lane where there is sufficient space for three or four cars to be parked.  A broad path leaves the end of the paved road beside a low metal barrier barring entrance to four wheel drive vehicles; a sign proclaims that the land beyond this point is private, so those wishing to visit should technically seek permission to do so.  The broad path leads through woodland toward a high metal fence that borders the adjacent Shrewsbury – Chester railway line where the bwlch of the hill is situated.  The broad path follows this boundary and the summit can be accessed up its steep northern face or from its south, all approaches are steep and much of the hill’s upper slopes have silver birch covering them.

The hill is named Pandy Bank and its summit is positioned at SJ 336 538.  This is a locally known name for the hill and was found when I made enquiries during my ascent.  The only name that appears on current Ordnance Survey maps relating to this hill is ‘Spoil Heap (disused)’.  As the Ordnance Survey detail implies, this hill is the relic of mining waste which was deposited from the old Gresford Colliery.  This site now forms a part of the Gresford Industrial Park.

Contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 mapping does not give this hill any ring contours; however the Ordnance Survey enlarged mapping hosted on the Geograph website does, and uses contour intervals of 5m, with an uppermost contour ring of 105m and bwlch contouring between 70m – 75m.  These contours give the hill a minimum of 30m of drop and contour interpolation prior to the summit survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 and subsequent LIDAR analysis suggested that the hill had 34m – 35m of drop. 

The survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 resulted in a 105.4m (converted to OSGM15) summit height and the subsequent LIDAR analysis resulted in a bwlch height of 70.2m, with these values giving this hill 35.1m of drop.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Bryniau Clwyd

Name:  Pandy Bank

OS 1:50,000 map:  117

Previously Listed Name:  Not previously classified 

Summit Height:  105.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 33630 53882

Bwlch Height:  70.3m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 33704 53783 (LIDAR)

Drop:  35.1m (Trimble summit and LIDAR bwlch)

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538) the new 100m Twmpau

For details on the summit survey of Pandy Bank

Myrddyn Phillips (April 2016)

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Moel y Gamelin

05.04.16  Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538)  

Pandy Bank (SJ 336 538)

Scattered across the Welsh landscape are vestiges of its past industrial heritage, these are pre-evident more so in the south where the excavation of coal predominated, and in the north-west where slate predominated.  But the north-east of the country also produced the extracts from mining, with much of this industry situated around the town of Wrexham.

The hub and work of these industrial sites have now, in the main, disappeared, but the landscape formed from their digging out of the earth and rock have left us an intriguing surplus of rock hewn cliffs and mounds of coal spoil, the ones from the latter that still survive are now, in the main, stabilised from slippage and form an oddity of hill, many of which do not possess a single contour ring on the Ordnance Survey maps of the day, but they still do exist, and take a little investigation to reach their summit.  One such example is Bersham Bank (SJ 311 481) which I’d Trimbled in October of last year.  This hill is positioned to the south-west of Wrexham and stands beside the busy A 483 as it hurtles between Rhiwabon and Chester. 

I’d known about Bersham Bank for many years as I’d driven past it on numerous occasions, but I didn’t know anything about its history, this I only researched after getting my Trimble.  The hill I planned on visiting today I’d only found last week, through my continuing work using the excellent Ordnance Survey enlarged map on the Geograph website.  Like Bersham Bank it was unnamed on the map, but unlike Bersham Bank it did possess contour rings on the most enlarged map on the Geograph website.  These contour rings popped up as I trawled through seemingly endless hours of cataloguing thousands of Welsh hills which has still got approximately two or three years left until I complete my grand little project.  Anyway, as one scale of map was examined compared to another, I whizzed around the eastern Bryniau Clwyd range toward Welsh border country and passed through the complicated land of small lakes and no doubt old mine workings immediately to the north-east outskirts of Wrexham, this took a lot of concentration to work through and my eyes then came back to the land to the immediate north of Wrexham’s outskirts and as one scale was enlarged and compared I looked at my Laptop screen and there in front of me was a hill that didn’t exist on any other scale of mapping, and this seemingly non-existent hill possessed seven continuous 5m contour rings, giving it a minimum of 30m of drop.  I analysed the bwlch and interpolated the summit height and judged that the hill had an approximate c 35m of drop.  Wales’ newest P30 seemed to have been discovered, but a confirmation by surveying with the Trimble was needed and so late in the afternoon, having visited four hills around Mynydd Hiraethog I drove through Pandy and on to Pont y Capel Lane and parked at the end of the paved road where the earth is blackened through the past glories of mining.

The end of the road

On my way down the lane I’d had a fleeting glimpse of the top of Pandy Bank (a local name confirmed whilst descending the hill) as it stretched skyward above the thin intervening layer of trees.  It rose steeply sided and its summit was thankfully free of trees which may have made Trimbling it difficult.

Fleeting glimpse of the summit of Pandy Bank from Pont y Capel Lane

A metal barrier closes off access to four wheeled vehicles at the end of the paved road and a wide path continues beyond through the trees.  As I walked up it a white sign stared back down at me ‘land beyond this point is private property, no public access’, I looked around and wondered what harm I was doing to anyone who owned this land, deciding that I was a good citizen of the human race I took a photograph of the sign and continued on my merry way.

The wide path leading to the northern edge of Pandy Bank

After only a short distance the enclosed nature of the path opens up and the lower tier of Pandy Bank rises to the south-west.  This lower tier is relatively flat topped and covered in sapling trees on its slopes.  Leading up its northern slope were two distinct paths gauged in to its blackened land, probably the aftereffects of trail bikes using the hill as a playground for sport?  I decided to investigate its eastern boundary and continued on the wide path as it headed south with the bulk of the hill now on my right.

Looking toward the lower tier of Pandy Bank

I cut off from this main path before its high point and headed up to the first levelled tier of the hill, in front of me the summit cone shot up even steeper, its sides were covered in straight shooting silver birch as were its eastern slopes.  I plodded up toward its top and popped out on to a relatively flat summit area which rose slightly toward the centre and even more so toward its western edge.  Two Trimble surveys were required and as the first data set was gathered I peered out to the world below, the late afternoon sky gave me a half hour of colour as the western sun illuminated the eastern grey cloud, but the cloud eventually won out and the sun was then shielded leaving a stillness to the colour and a lack of depth to the view.

Illuminated grays always give good colour

Looking toward the higher tier of Pandy Bank

The view north from the summit of Pandy Bank

The view east to the Gresford Industrial Park

Gathering data from the summit of Pandy Bank

After repositioning the Trimble in the central high point and gathering another five minute data set I headed down the steep southern side of the hill to where I’d spotted a single person walking through a land of forgotten neglect, I called over and tried making conversation, without much success, although the person told me that he’d heard the hill being called Pandy Bank, which seemed logical as I’d been told that the hill that I’d surveyed in October of last year is known locally as Bersham Bank, a ‘bank’ in this instance being the name used for the waste spoil produced by the mine, and Pandy being the small community at its base.

After thanking him for the information I spent a while taking photographs with the hill framed against muddied pools amongst a flatland of nothingness.  Wanting to investigate the hill a little further I joined the continuation of the path on the eastern side of the hill which gave me a view down to its connecting bwlch which is at or very near to a railway line.

Looking down to the area of the bwlch

Having completed the eastern circuit of this main path I headed back up to the flat area of the hill’s lower tier and aimed for its northern edge where the two distinct gauged paths were situated.  This way down proved steep but relatively safe, although the waste spoil gave little purchase as it is densely packed.  As I re-joined the main path I looked back up to the hill and smiled, can’t wait for the Trimble result!

The northern face of Pandy Bank

Looking toward the summit of Pandy Bank from the hill's lower tier

Survey Result:

Pandy Bank (significant name change)

Summit Height:  105.4m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 33630 53882 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  70.2m (LIDAR)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 33704 53783 (LIDAR)

Drop:  35.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) (100m Twmpau addition)

Dominance:  33.34% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch) (Lesser Dominant addition)

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