16.07.22 Carreg y Frân (SH 938 053) and
Panylau Gwynion (SH 935 063)
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| Panylau Gwynion (SH 935 063) |
Having suggested to meet
up for a weekend walk, Aled devised a route taking in two Pedwar hills and with
a relatively early start this would enable me to get back to Welshpool for my
12.40pm lunchtime appointment.
The two hills he
suggested were ideal; Carreg y Frân and Panylau Gwynion. I had neglected these hills for many years as
Ordnance Survey maps show each summit immersed in conifers, however recent logs
on the Hill Bagging website report that the conifers on each summit have now
been felled.
The walk taking in these
two hills was relatively short in length following the course of a track. Therefore navigation was easy and although
the forecast was for increasingly warm conditions, an early start should still enable
me to make my lunchtime appointment.
We met in the car park
in Llanerfyl at just before 7.00am. I
then drove up the quiet valley of Cwm Nant yr Eira which stretches for miles
toward Talerddig. Today the valley was
showing signs of mid-summer with newly mown fields of hay and that quiet heat
induced stillness where a dulled green predominates.
Nearing the high point
of the narrow paved road that follows the course of the valley the track
leading to these two hills veered rightward gaining height over a ridge that
peered down at us as I pulled my car up.
It was here that I parked. We had
debated driving up the track which would certainly save time. Although we opted to walk up this track, it
would be relatively easy to have driven with a number of parking options
leading to the first hill and some also afterward.
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| The Cwm Nant yr Eira heading toward Talerddig |
It was 7.20am as we
started walking. The conditions were
idyllic as the heat of the day had not yet set in and that slight cooling of
early morning was still evident as we gained height up the track. Soon the view opened up with the three hills
of Ffridd Bryn Mawr (SH 981 065), Pen Coed (SH 985 090) and Moel Ddolwen (SH
988 078) no more than light grey silhouettes from this direction with the sun
still low in the sky. I had visited
these hills in July 2020 when the heat battered me, but remember them giving an
excellent circuit.
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| Moel Ddolwen on the left and Ffridd Bryn Mawr |
In the distance mist
clung to the depths of the Caersŵs to Cemmaes Road valley,
waiting for the heat to eventually burn it off.
The early morning start had given striking colour to the land when
looking westward, but the knowledge that the heat was ever increasing was still
present at this time of the morning; we pressed on.
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| Heading up the track toward Carreg y Frân |
Steady progress was made
toward the upper part of Carreg y Frân and when on the track
immediately below its south-western flank we could see that new conifers had
been planted, thankfully they were still saplings, but in future years will
again swamp this hill. A disused quarry
sits beside the track and it was from here that we headed up in to the
fledgling trees. The going underfoot was
never difficult, although muddied peat laden holes were evident.
 |
| The edge of the disused quarry |
Soon we were at the
summit, although the very highest point of the hill is difficult to pinpoint
due to the profusion of channels created for the trees, these were interspersed
with a multitude of small bumps now overgrown with a profusion of
undergrowth. Having visited a few
contenders, Aled directed me toward what looked the highest part of the hill
and the Trimble was soon set up gathering summit data.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Carreg y Frân |
During data collection
Aled spotted movement below where the sapling trees met mature conifers; a deer
had bolted. Deer are a rare sight on the
Welsh hills, with many spotted close to or in forestry. This one had antlers and was probably a
Fallow Deer. We watched it as it made
quick progress over the tree debris, I had just enough time for a photograph
and then it was out of sight.
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| Spot the Deer |
It was now time to rest
and soak in the scene and therefore I let the equipment gather 10 minutes of
data. Once data were gathered and the equipment
packed away, I followed Aled through the small conifers back toward our inward
track.
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| Panylau Gwynion from Carreg y Frân |
The track now continued
downward passing the connecting bwlch between the two hills. It looked a forbidding place to attempt a
survey and with the prospect of future LIDAR coverage I had no intention of
trying to do so today.
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| Somewhere over there is the bwlch of Carreg y Frân |
Beyond the bwlch the
track swung round the upper easterly flank of Panylau Gwynion. The conifers on the upper part of this hill
have also been felled, but the resulting debris of dead wood and branches still
scatter its upper section, in contrast to the summit area of Carreg y Frân
with young conifers already taking root.
On my suggestion we
continued on the track heading toward the upper northerly part of the hill and
only headed up toward its summit at another disused quarry, where a rutted
vehicle track gauged its way upward. By
this stage I was slowly following Aled, with my head down concentrating on
underfoot conditions.
The Hill Bagging website
mentions two contenders for the high point of this hill. The first where a tiny 450m map ring contour
is positioned just to the west of the fence boundary between what was the
conifer plantation and open ground. This
first point consists of a tussocky heathered knoll. The second is where a larger 450m map ring
contour is placed amongst what was the conifer plantation; this has a 451m spot
height on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.
Both positions could now be Trimbled.
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| Aled at the summit of Panylau Gwynion |
By the time I emerged on the upper part of the hill Aled was standing on top of the tussocky knoll. I soon joined him and sat below the equipment so as not to disturb satellite reception as the Trimble gathered its all-important data.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Panylau Gwynion |
One data set remained to
collect and its position was only 30 metres away, so after taking a few
photographs of the Trimble set-up position on the tussocky knoll, I packed it
away and again followed Aled in to the debris of dead wood toward the high point of what was the forested section of this hill. Having chosen our preferred position Aled
stuck a branch in to the debris of wood at the base of my rucksack which had
the Trimble positioned on top, once the branch struck solid ground I then took
a measurement offset between it and the Trimble’s internal antenna. I then set the equipment to gather data.
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| Gathering data at the lower of the two points surveyed for the summit of Panylau Gwynion |
Once allotted data were
gathered and stored we took a direct route down the upper part of the hill to
reconnect with the forestry track. This
proved much easier than our inward route and soon we were heading down the
track to the connecting bwlch between the two hills and then up toward the
first of the two disused quarries, just beyond which I stopped for a few
minutes rest.
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| Looking back on the track as it passes the newly planted trees on Carreg y Frân |
The continuation of the
walk, although now decidedly warm, was a pleasure partly as I now knew I had
sufficient time to get home, change, wash, sort my gear and make my lunchtime
appointment, but it was also a pleasure to be out in this land; which is
another small part of Wales that must be seldom visited except for the local
farmer, a rogue hill walker and forestry workers.
We arrived back at the
car at 11.00am and I was home just before midday and at my lunchtime
appointment three minutes before our scheduled meeting time of 12.40pm. An excellent way to spend the morning!
Survey Result:
Carreg y Frân
Summit Height: 436.1m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 93822 05394 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: c 397 (interpolation)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 93337 05504 (interpolation)
Drop: c 39m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and
interpolated bwlch)
Dominance: 8.96% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and
interpolated bwlch)
Panylau Gwynion
Summit Height: 450.3m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 93557 06357 (Trimble GeoXH 6000) (summit relocation)
Bwlch Height: 412m (spot height)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 93627 06715 (spot height)
Drop: 38m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot
height bwlch)
Dominance: 8.51% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot
height bwlch)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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