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

 

Pt. 395.9m (SJ 215 543) 

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is 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 derived from detail on contemporary maps produced from Ordnance Survey data and a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

Pt. 395.9m (SJ 215 543)

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. 

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 a minor road to its north, the A5104 road to its south-east and the B5430 road farther to its north, and has the village of Rhydtalog towards the east north-east. 

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

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 300m P30 list on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the invented and transposed name of Pen Llyn Cyfynwy, with an accompanying note stating; Name from lake to the North-East.

Pen Llyn Cyfynwy

396m

SJ215543

117

256

Trig pillar. Name from lake to the North-East

                 

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 lake 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. 

However, occasionally even when research is conducted an appropriate name for the hill may not be found, and on such occasions the listing protocol is to use the point (Pt. 395.9m) notation, and for this hill this is such an example. 

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Trichant – The 300m Hills of Wales is Pt. 395.9m, and this is being used as the author has not found an appropriate name for the hill either through historic research and / or local enquiry. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Moel y Gamelin 

Name:  Pt. 395.9m 

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Llyn Cyfynwy 

OS 1:50,000 map:  117

Summit Height:  395.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)    

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 21508 54329 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) 

Bwlch Height:  c 341m (interpolation) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 22252 54249 (interpolation) 

Drop:  c 55m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips (November 2021)

 

 

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Moel y Gamelin

16.09.21  Pt. 395.9m (SJ 215 543) 

Pt. 395.9m (SJ 215 543)

This hill is positioned in the Red Grouse Country Park and forms land associated with the Lake Hill Fishery with Llyn Cyfynwy providing the fishing.  The bulk of the hill consists of heather moor; however access is relatively easy, either from the convenience of the car park adjoined to the fishery café which is positioned just to the east of the summit or from a minor road to its north.  I chose the latter approach. 

Prior to visiting this hill I had a number of things to do in Oswestry and therefore my usual early morning start was delayed somewhat.  I drove north as morning cloud started to break and with a settled forecast for afternoon sunshine and light winds it was ideal for visiting hills and surveying. 

Driving through the small community of Rhydtalog, I then connected with the minor road heading westward to the north of this hill and parked close to a gate that gave access across two fields toward the heather moor. 

The summit cone of the hill rose heathered in the near distance, a dark silhouette when I approached toward the lake as late morning sun flickered behind cloud.  A second gate gave access to the good vehicle track, come path that circles the waters of Llyn Cyfynwy. 

Llyn Cyfynwy with the 395.9m heighted hill in the background

I wanted to walk around the lake and call at the fishery/café after visiting the summit to make place-name enquiries and therefore opted for the path on the westerly side of the lake for my ascent.  The path is good and took me to within easy striking distance of the hill’s high point which is crowned by a triangulation pillar. 

During the walk a continuous tata-tat-tat was emanating from the shooting range to the south of this hill.  The shooting range is adjoined to a 385m map heighted hill which I wanted to visit afterward and which is situated just to the south of the A5104 road which makes its way between these two hills. 

Approaching the summit

The last few metres to the summit was steeper than any on the approach and has a knotted rope in place, secured around the base of the trig for those wanting an aid to the high point.  As I stood beside the trig the firing range was in view, it was obviously popular as there were many cars parked there and any approach to the 385m map heighted hill from that direction would be off limits and potentially hazardous. 

The high point of my first hill of the day was easy to identify and consists of an embedded rock near the base of the trig pillar.  I secured the Trimble in place with the aid of its bag which I placed under one side of it, by doing so its internal antenna was aligned to the highest part of the summit rock and it was now neatly sitting in place, instead of at an angle. 

Gathering data at the summit of Pt. 395.9m

During data collection I kneeled behind the trig and scribbled all necessary detail in my surveying notebook.  After five minutes of data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, packed it away, took a few photographs and reversed my inward route back toward the lake and then headed on the path toward the fishery. 

Pt. 395.9m from near the shore of Llyn Cyfynwy

At the cabin close to the café I called out my ‘hello’s’ and the owner then emerged.  We talked for five minutes or so, he told me he just refers to the hill as trig point and didn’t know of a name for it.  I thanked him for his time and continued on the path around the eastern side of the lake.  It was only a short distance back to my car.  This hill was an ideal first walk of the day, and I hoped to do another two or three before heading home before a section of the A483 road was closed off in the evening. 

 

Survey Result:

 

Pt. 395.9m (significant name change)

Summit Height:  395.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 21508 54329 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Bwlch Height:  c 341m (interpolation)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SJ 22252 54249 (interpolation)

Drop:  c 55m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch)

Dominance:  13.87% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and interpolated bwlch)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet