Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Worcestershire Beacon

15.02.18  Worcestershire Beacon (SO 768 452, only col Trimbled)

LIDAR col image of Worcestershire Beacon (summit at SO 768 452)

There’s a pleasure surveying a col that isn’t positioned in what could generally be referred to as the uplands, and especially so if the col is situated away from urban development.  The cols I have surveyed that meet this description are usually quiet places, seldom visited except by an occasional farmer.  They are places that a walker would rarely go, and as for a hill bagger, well, there would be little reason to visit, except of course if wanting to increase the accuracy of numerical data in a hill list, and to do so via a survey.

Today’s such col is situated about a mile west of the busy A 49 road and to the south of Ludlow and between the small communities of Ashton and Orleton.  The col is the critical one for Worcestershire Beacon, a hill whose summit I surveyed in early October 2015; this hill is listed as a Marilyn, Hump and a Four.  Its summit is probably one of the most visited of any hill in Britain, and yet its col is a forgotten and quiet spot positioned on an earthen vehicle track or close by in an adjacent field, I surveyed both.

Leaving Worcester at just past 10.00am I had a good day ahead with a number of walks and hills planned to visit and survey before a 6.00pm rendezvous in Newtown with friends for a meal and the cinema, I wondered if everything I planned to survey could be accomplished.

By 11.20pm I had my wellies on and was walking down the earthen vehicle track having parked my car at the junction between it and the narrow lane leading to Orleton.

Map contours suggest that the col of Worcestershire Beacon is placed in the adjacent field to this track on its eastern side, I’d come prepared with two sets of ten figure grid references, one on the track and the other in the field where interpolation suggests the col to be placed. 

As with many col’s it is the valley to valley direction that is the hardest to visually determine, and as I walked past where the col is situated to the point where the hill to hill traverse descends from the south I followed this traverse back on the track to where I judged its low point to lie, during this time I had the Trimble switched on to log in to satellite reception, when I determined my chosen spot for Trimble placement I checked the ten figure grid reference I had noted for where interpolation suggests the col could be placed on the track , and my chosen spot was within a couple of metres.

Gathering data at the first Trimble set-up position at the col of Worcestershire Beacon (looking south)

Gathering data at the first Trimble set-up position at the col of Worcestershire Beacon (looking north)

Once the Trimble was set up I waited about ten minutes for it to achieve its 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged and then waited another five minutes for the allotted data points to be gathered.  During this time all was thankfully quiet on the track, although tyre marks from a tractor were evident in the mud either side of the thin strip of grass in the centre of the track, indicating that the local farmer had come this way recently.

Gathering data at the second Trimble set-up position at the col of Worcestershire Beacon

The second Trimble set-up position at the col of Worcestershire Beacon

After gathering up the Trimble I walked back down the track to where a gap in the adjacent hedge gave access to the field on the track’s eastern side, this field was extensive and so I followed the hedge to where it bisects with the point at which the Trimble had been set-up on the track and checked this position against the ten figure grid reference noted for the field, I then wandered around a bit and moved the position of the Trimble a few metres before setting it to gather data.

As the Trimble gathered data I stood beside the hedge and hoped that I would blend in as I was in view from a house across the field, but again all remained quiet.  Once I packed the Trimble away I exited the field through the gap in the hedge and wandered back down the track to my car, next stop Wapley Hill.      

 

Postscript:

Since the survey of this hill full LIDAR coverage is now available.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height and positional data that is now freely available for England and Wales.  Consequently the numerical details for this hill has been analysed using this technique, resulting in the LIDAR height and position for the col of this hill prioritised over that produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000.

Survey Result:

Worcestershire Beacon

Summit Height:  425.4m (converted to OSGM15, from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 76882 45230 (from previous Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey)

Col Height:  85.2m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 50203 66471 (LIDAR)

Drop:  340.2m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  79.97% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

For details on the summit survey of this hill

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Worcestershire Beacon

30.04.17  Midsummer Hill (SO 759 375) and Eastnor Park (SO 752 378)     

Midsummer Hill (SO 759 375)

The Malvern Hills are justifiably popular and throngs of people descend to their well-maintained paths and shapely summits most weekends.  However, the lower summits on the southern extremity of the hill range give good walking with the benefit of fewer people, and this is where we headed to for a couple of hours this afternoon.

The main summit we planned on visiting is Midsummer Hill which has the remains of an ancient hill fort encircling its summit area, if weather and inclination permitted we also wanted to combine this hill with the lower summit to its north north-west that has an obelisk crowning its high point.

Both hills can be easily combined and we set off from the south where a free car parking area gives access to steep slopes heading in to deciduous woodland.  Although the sky was grey and the weather forecast predicted rain for later in the afternoon the woodland was bathed in serene blue as a multitude of blue bells cast their beautiful spell.  Late April and early May are a special time on the lower hills when slopes can become a myriad of succulent blues interspersed with new shooted greens as blue bells gather amongst spring’s new growth.

Blues and greens of the lower hills

The steep path gained height quickly beside masses of tangled brambles and undergrowth and proved a relatively easy way up toward the summit of Midsummer Hill.  During the wooded ascent an occasion trig was blown from overhead branches signalling the windy conditions on the top. 

Lou heading through the wood toward the summit of Midsummer Hill

The summit of Midsummer Hill is a few metres north of a memorial shelter that was built by Reverend H L Somers (who gave the hill to the National Trust) in memory of his son who was killed in the First World War.  As I assessed the lay of land to find the highest point of the hill, Lou took shelter on the leeward side crouching down out of the wind looking out toward the west and the continuation of our route to the obelisk.

Information board on the top of the memorial shelter close to the summit of Midsummer Hill

Once the Trimble was aligned with the high point of the hill and gathering data I stood back and hoped that no one else would visit the summit in the next five minutes, one couple approached, but they kept to the earthen embankment below the high point and soon disappeared from view, otherwise we had the summit to ourselves.

The summit of Midsummer Hill with the Trimble on the high point

The Eastnor Obelisk from Midsummer Hill

Gathering data at the summit of Midsummer Hill

Looking north to the higher Malvern Hills

By the time the Trimble had gathered its allotted five minutes of data the sky toward the west had turned a slate grey and with rain forecast for the afternoon we pressed on down the northern slopes of Midsummer Hill through woodland on a good path toward the hill’s connecting col.  Once at the col I set the Trimble up to gather data but the enclosed nature of where it was positioned did not encourage it to reach its 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged, and after waiting ten minutes whilst directing a Landover and trailer and a few walkers to one side of where it was placed, I closed it off without any data having been collected and we made our way up toward the obelisk.

Heading down to the col

The Trimble positioned at the col waiting for the accuracy level to reach 0.1m before data should be logged

The obelisk is big and commands the southern extremity of the Malvern Hills, however our stay beside it was not long as the first rain drops were now falling and the western sky looked as if it was going to deposit lots of the wet stuff on us at any moment.

Approaching the Eastnor Obelisk

The higher Malvern Hills

Descending quickly to an earthen track we followed this until a gate gave access to open fields, these we followed back toward another track and then on to the car.  This descent proved a lot of fun as one in the party had concerns about killer rams and being off route and not on a main path, the pace of the descent and the fits of internal giggles thinking of killer rams made it hard for me to keep up, we arrived back at the car having dodged the rain which looked as if it had concentrated on the higher summits.  The walk proved a great couple of hours investigating the southern Malvern Hills whilst dodging the rain and the prospect of any rogue killer rams.

 ills.

Looking back toward the obelisk with the infamous field full of killer rams

Postscript: 

Since visiting these hills full LIDAR coverage is now available.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height and positional data that is now freely available for England and Wales.  Consequently the numerical details for these hills have been analysed using this technique, resulting in LIDAR being used for the points not surveyed with the Trimble GeoXH 6000.

 

LIDAR image of Eastnor Psrk (SO 752 378)

Survey Result:

Midsummer Hill

Summit Height:  285.5m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 75957 37516 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Col Height:  204.5m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 75666 37999 (LIDAR)

Drop:  81.0m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  28.37% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Eastnor Park

Summit Height:  241.0m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 75227 37824 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  220.9m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 75612 38173 (LIDAR)

Drop:  20.1m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  8.33% (LIDAR)

For further details please consult the Trimble survey spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Worcestershire Beacon

02.01.17  Black Hill (SO 768 413) and Pinnacle Hill (SO 767 421)    

Pinnacle Hill (SO 767 421)

The Malvern Hills form a 13km (8 mile) block of upland that stretches in a north to south orientation, they have two main roads that carve through their ridge; the B 4218 known as Wyche Road and the A 449, these roads split the hill range into three parts; the northern, central and southern, with Pinnacle Hill being the highest point of the central part of the Malvern Hills.

Having visited Pinnacle Hill from the north two days ago, when the landscape was embalmed in mist we wanted to visit the hill from the south, and by doing so complete the central ridge. 

The British weather is renowned as being fickle and where the hill was enshrouded in winter’s mist two days ago, it was now cloaked in winter’s sunshine, bright and cheerful it shone encouraging the masses to visit, and we joined them, two little flecks amongst a great swathe of humanity all wrapped up against the chill, some with push chairs and many with their dogs, these hills are proving a literal dog walker’s delight.

The car parks were almost full to bursting, but thankfully we found one of only a few remaining places and set off up a good path to join the southern part of this central ridge.  Colourful dots were scattered across every path, many no doubt in their newly fresh Christmas outdoor garments, some heading down after their morning’s exertions and more heading up toward the grassed tops and blue sky above.

The colourfully garbed New Year horde

It was early afternoon as we wandered up the southern ridge of Black Hill and the sun was low casting out dimmed colour behind us, whilst ahead the colour bounced with bright and luxuriant depth.  Although dulled in colour the southern hills shone silver light and Herefordshire Beacon dominated this southerly view, a bulk of a hill looking out over the wooded foreground which shimmered dew like.

Herefordshire Beacon - the high point on the southern section of the Malvern Hills

Looking across to Herefordshire Beacon from the lower slopes of Black Hill

To the immediate east the flatness of ground was accentuated by these shapely hills as the town of Malvern nestled in its richness, forever a part of this landscape.  We reached the summit of Black Hill, posed for a couple of photos and headed on, down to the connecting col and up again to the 345m map heighted summit just to the south of Pinnacle Hill.  It was only a short distance to the high point of this central section and once their I set the Trimble up, aligned with the highest part of rock, as I had done two days previous.

As the Trimble gathered data Lou marched along, admiring the view and keeping her limbs warm, meanwhile I watched out for any rogue dogs and their walkers, five minutes later I switched the Trimble off, packed it away and we retraced our route to the nearest connecting col before joining a path which took us down to the main path on the western side of this central ridge.

Gathering data at the summit area of Pinnacle Hill

As we descended it seemed the throng of people were still multiplying as the crowds had not diminished, colourfully garbed people were everywhere.  Being close to large populated towns and in the case of Worcester; a city, can sometimes be to the detriment of a fragile environment, and although these hills are scarred with wide paths, they seem to have withstood the onslaught of continued visits extremely well.

The central section of the Malvern Hills, with Black Hill on the right and Pinnacle Hill on the left

Once on the main path it was only a short distance back to the car, and the chilled clear conditions were savoured on the way back to Worcester with a visit to a pub, which proved an ideal way to end a very enjoyable afternoon.

ills.

Postscript:

Since the visit to these hills full LIDAR coverage is now available.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height and positional data that is now freely available for England and Wales.  Consequently the numerical details for these hills have been analysed using this technique, resulting in the LIDAR height and position for each hill being used.

LIDAR summit image of Black Hill (SO 768 413)

Survey Result:

Black Hill

Summit Height:  309.3m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 76834 41301 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  289.7m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 76796 41479 (LIDAR)

Drop:  19.6m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  6.35% (LIDAR)

Pinnacle Hill

Summit Height:  358.2m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 76792 42109 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  261.1m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 76911 43719 (LIDAR)

Drop:  97.1m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  27.11% (LIDAR)

For details on the first summit survey of Pinnacle Hill

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Worcestershire Beacon

31.12.16  Pinnacle Hill (SO 767 421)    

Pinnacle Hill (SO 767 421) taken on a clear and sunny day

The etherealness of mist is a delight, and especially so when there is a chill in the air.  Its affect is one to close off near surrounds and when coupled with the chill of a winter’s afternoon it forces gloved hands and hatted heads which emphasises the act of enclosure.

This enclosure concentrates the mind on one’s immediate surrounds; the delicate detail and seemingly distant sounds that otherwise may slip by unnoticed.  The last day of 2016 brought these conditions to the Malvern Hills as we headed south from the top of the Wyche Road, firstly on steps that gained access to a grass dewed ridge.

The sun kissed crisp winter’s day full of frost and distant views was not given us, but the enclosure of mist brought a welcome hour of contentful wandering in one’s own immediate world.

The central section of the Malvern Hills has Pinnacle Hill as its highest point, and it was the summit of this hill that we aimed for.  A few happy shadowed figures passed us, some with dogs, and others without, generally their presence was heard before being seen as mist laden voices cast out from the gloom as a foreteller.

Lou on the ascent of Pinnacle Hill

A slight breeze wisped in from the west, accentuating the dewed chill, the Trimble survey seemed periphery to the walk, but as it included a summit I thought it a shame to miss the Trimbling opportunity, and so it was placed, aligned with the highest bit of rock on the summit of Pinnacle Hill, and as Lou wandered around keeping her back functioning and her body relatively warm, I waited patiently for the five minutes of data to be stored.

Gathering data on the summit area of Pinnacle Hill

Once the Trimble was packed away we retraced our steps down the northern ridge and back to the car, it had been good to get out even though we had come back without a view, sometimes one can feel better for it.

Postscript:

Since the survey of this hill full LIDAR coverage is now available.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height and positional data that is now freely available for England and Wales.  Consequently the numerical details for this hill has been analysed using this technique, resulting in the LIDAR height and position for the summit of this hill prioritised over that produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000.

LIDAR summit image of Pinnacle Hill (SO 767 421)

 

Survey Result:

Pinnacle Hill

Summit Height:  358.2m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 76792 42109 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  261.1m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 76911 43719 (LIDAR)

Drop:  97.1m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  27.11% (LIDAR)

For details on the second summit survey of Pinnacle Hill

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Worcestershire Beacon

28.01.16  Herefordshire Beacon (SO 759 400)

Herefordshire Beacon (SO 759 400)

Herefordshire Beacon forms the high point of the southerly part of the Malvern Hills.  Surrounding its summit are the remains of an extensive Iron Age hill fort known as the British Camp.  The ridge that forms the Malvern Hills is extremely popular with easy access from two roads that bisect it and relatively large conurbations also within easy reach of the hills.

Artist's impression of the Iron Age hill fort known as the British Camp

As the wet conditions to the start of 2016 were forecast to generally continue, we kept an eye on a gap in the westerly fronts that were rolling in from the Atlantic, and Thursday morning was forecast to give good, chilly conditions with the prospect of rain later in the afternoon.

Driving south-west from Worcester the sky shone blue and the air gave a slight chill to the morning’s beauty.  We parked at the top of the A449 where the large British Camp pay and display car park is situated.  As Lou remained in the warmth of the car I ventured out to explore the T-junction where the B4232 heads north toward West Malvern, it is this junction of roads that forms the col of Herefordshire Beacon.

As I assessed the lay of tarmac the customary cars whizzed past and I wondered what I would do if I judged the critical point to be in the middle of the road, thankfully the road headed down on the hill to hill traverse to the adjacent pavement at the entrance to the Malvern Hills Hotel, and this seemed to be where the valley to valley traverse also met on its upward journey.

I placed the Trimble on top of my rucksack, measured the offset from the position of its internal antenna to the pavement below and then the height between pavement and road, and patiently waited for five minutes of data to be gathered.  Once data were stored and the equipment packed away I re-joined Lou and away we went in the welcoming sunshine.

Gathering data at the critical col of Herefordshire Beacon

A tarmacked path leads up from the car park past a large Victorian era stone plaque giving the history of the hill and its height; 1,115ft (340m) compared to its current map height of 338m (1,109ft).

The Victorian era stone plaque

Leaving the main path we headed up on to another path and the grassed lower slopes of the hill, by doing so the views opened and away to our north the higher Malvern Hills with Worcestershire Beacon dominant extended to the immediate foreground, with the land to our east opening onto flat plains, and away to our west the grey silhouette of the Black Mountains were easily identifiable.

The grassed path on the hill’s north-eastern slopes led through a number of remaining earthworks that formed a part of the ancient hill fort.  Below us scampered dogs, running and playing with the energy of only a dog on the hill can, coloured jackets of walkers started to appear, some below with their dogs and others ascending the hill from the south.

The view north toward Worcestershire Beacon

Lou wrapped up for a chilly January day on the hill

As we reached the top I placed the Trimble down on the high point and activated it to gather data, as I did so, Lou marched around the base of the summit area to keep her limbs warm.  Two people stood on the periphery of the summit and I explained what I was doing and asked if they would be good enough to remain a safe distance away from the Trimble whilst it did its stuff.

Gathering data at the summit of Herefordshire Beacon with Millennium Hill in the background

Gathering data at the summit of Herefordshire Beacon with Worcestershire Beacon and Pinnacle Hill in the background

During data gathering I wandered down to meet Lou as she completed her first lap of the summit base, she was wrapped up well against the chill breeze with hands in pockets and scarf pulled up over the lower part of her face, all that was visible were her eyes which were running due to the coldness of the conditions.

Lou wrapped up with the Black Mountains as a hazy grey shape way off in the distance to the west

Once the Trimble was packed away we continued southward over the summit of Millennium Hill and dropped down toward a path that contours around the eastern slopes of Herefordshire Beacon.  Down to our right were the rounded waters of the British Camp Reservoir looking invitingly blue and tranquil.

The British Camp Reservoir

As we made our way northward on the contouring path more dog walkers said their hello’s as tiny figures appeared on the summit overhead.  It had been a pleasant hour or so on the hill, and we rounded our visit off with a relaxing hot chocolate and pot of tea in the Malvern Hills Hotel before throwing ourselves in to the fray with shoppers in Birmingham. 

Hot drinks after a walk - yummy!!!

  

Survey Result:

Herefordshire Beacon

 

Summit Height:  339.1m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 75994 40029

Col Height:  236.6m (converted to OSGM15)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 76320 40420

Drop:  102.5m

Dominance:  30.23%

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