16.03.21 Cae Bonc (SJ 129 121), Bryn y Fedwen (SJ 115
125), Pen y Garth (SJ 121 135), Cefn Dreiniog (SJ
145 147) and Gallt yr Ancr (SJ 145 130)
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| Foel Fawr (SJ 130 146) and Cefn Dreiniog (SJ 145 147) |
Before leaving home I accessed the Meteoradar
website and watched a rain band progressing from the north-west of Wales south-eastward
toward Welshpool and the hills I planned on visiting. As the rain band crept south-eastward it steadily
decreased in intensity. I looked outside
and although rain had recently fallen and the sky was heavy with grey, it was
not then raining. I loaded my car with
walking boots and rucksack, quickly checked my lap top and saw the rain band
dissipate and headed toward Meifod driving approximately five miles that the
recently altered restriction to Stay Local permits.
Outside of a small Christmas day walk with my
brother this was the first time since 12th December last year that I
had driven to a start of a hill walk. It
was oddly refreshing to do this, even if restricted to just five miles. I felt as if the world had suddenly opened up
with the possibilities almost endless beyond those of Yr Allt, Y Golfa and the
canal tow path.
Prior to this walk I’d looked over maps and analysed
LIDAR and had come prepared with five summit grid references that would take me
on a good circular walk from Meifod over two small hills to Pontrobert, before
continuing across two higher hills and ending on the summit of Gallt yr Ancr;
an impressive looking hill positioned directly above the small community of
Meifod.
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| LIDAR image of Bryn y Fedwen (SJ 115 125) |
Having found a convenient place to leave my car
I was walking by 8.35am on the continuation of a narrow country lane heading
west toward the first hill of the day; which the Tithe names its upper bounded
field as Cae Bonc. The lane was wet with
patches of mud as were the near fields, the overnight rain had made field
walking decidedly sloshy but I was soon above Coed-cowrhyd farm with the
Trimble placed on a fence post above the summit of the hill.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cae Bonc |
As the Trimble gathered its customary summit
data a small flock of sheep gazed my way between their mornings munching. Back to my east Gallt yr Ancr looked
impressively dominant rising above pastured green fields.
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| Gallt yr Ancr (SJ 145 130) |
Before leaving the summit of Cae Bonc I took a
compass reading toward the next hill and then headed down toward a wooden fence
and gate. All was quiet as I made my way
back down the hill, the sky was still grey, although patches of whiteness were
emerging toward the north-west, this was the first sign of the beautiful conditions
later in the day that would quickly emerge across the land, but for now I was
content with muddied tracks and the intricate weaving of public footpaths
across a myriad of grazing fields.
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| Cae Bonc (SJ 129 121) |
Over the last few weeks I’d become accustomed to
Linda’s company during walks and enjoyed it immensely, today I was on my own
and appreciated the solitude and quiet surrounds. I’d occasionally stop and listen, there was
little to intrigue one’s imagination, just distant bird song brought on the
breeze, the slight hum of a farm vehicle somewhere off in the distance, the
trickle of water as I forded a brook and the ever present sound of my breathing
as I slowly gained height toward the top of my second hill of the day; Bryn y
Fedwen.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Bryn y Fedwen |
The name of Bryn y Fedwen was again derived from
the Tithe map and its highest point was beside a hedge in a nondescript field,
one like many others, where silence predominated. After data collection I retraced my steps
back to a muddied track leading to an old farm house and stopped and chatted
with the couple who lived there. They
were out walking their dog, which flew in excited circles roaring around the
adjacent field. They mentioned how
unusual it was to talk to another person; the times of Covid have indeed been
most unusual.
Following a lane down in to the confines of
Pontrobert I then steadily gained height on a minor road before turning right
on a track leading to Garth Fawr. This
track would give me access to a steep field on my left which would take me to
the summit of my third hill of the day; Pen y Garth.
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| Pontrobert |
I slowly gained height up the field,
occasionally zig-zagging to lessen the immediate gradient. As height was gained the view opened up and
by the time I arrived at the summit blue sky dominated with spring freshness
and warmth only dreamt of during the winter months.
The high point of Pen y Garth was easy to
pinpoint and within a couple of minutes the Trimble was set up gathering its
allotted data. During data collection I
stood and looked out across what to me was a stunning landscape of coloured
fields, rising hills, distant mountains and succulent blue sky. These hills will never disappoint and this
part of Wales, like so many others, will always give a sense of openness and a
feeling of welcome.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Pen y Garth |
I celebrated my enthusiastic state of mind by
eating a sandwich and once the Trimble had done its stuff and was packed away I
headed down toward a narrow lane and the track leading to Pen-y-bryn. From here public footpaths led across
forgotten and quiet fields, through gates next to dappled brooks where the
sunshine, bird song and that all welcoming warmth made me linger, sit and again
just listen, it was a beautiful time with little happening, which made it all
the more special.
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| The distant Breiddin from the summit of Pen y Garth |
The public footpath led me to an option of two
gates with a wooded area in front. I
didn’t want to get immersed in pathless woodland and so headed toward a small
house that was still on a trailer to ask directions. The first person I met was a young boy who enthusiastically
told me about his white t-shirt, I asked if his Mum or Dad were in, he said his
Mum was. When his Mum emerged we happily
chatted away for five minutes or so, she told me the house would eventually be
moved to the top of the adjacent field, along with her partner they had moved
there from Llanfair and when pregnant with her proudly white t-shirted son they
had travelled around continental Europe with their two other children in a
camper home. By now the sun seemed as if
it was ablaze, I was kitted out more for a winter walk and was
over-heating. To stop and talk and make
contact with a fellow human was an unexpected treat. When I explained my onward route she kindly directed
me toward a stile and the continuing path through the wood that would emerge on
to a filed. I thanked her and waved my
goodbyes.
Beyond the wood and the field another stile led
on to another quiet country lane, my next hill rose above to the east, it
looked rather stunning in the spring sunshine but with wooded areas and no
discernible path I wondered if I may be bracken bashing up its steepening
slopes.
Whilst on the lane I headed toward a gate to get
a better view of any onward route, there circling the slope below the lane was
a green track disappearing around a corner which would at least take me down to
the green pastored valley bottom and lead me toward the ascent of the hill.
I found the start of the green track a little
further up the lane and wandered down its initial muddied way before it turned
into drier conditions which proved a delight.
I only remained on the track for a short distance as it continued away
from the hill; therefore I wandered down steeply to join the flat bedded land
between it and the rising slopes ahead.
Sheep cascaded across the flat pastured field in front, bleating as they
did so, no doubt surprised to be confronted by an overdressed hill walker.
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| The old green track leading toward Cefn Dreiniog |
Once off the green track I sat on the steepened
slope and watched nothing, just sheep and their whitened lambs moving toward
and then past me. It was warm for the
time of year and I felt uncomfortably overdressed, therefore I happily spelt
ten minutes taking my boots off and converting my walking trousers to shorts
and felt instantly better for doing so.
A vehicle track on the pastured field led the
way toward a gate, where it continued toward another gate, this gave access in
to the wood. Once in the wood I followed
rising ground close to its boundary fence and soon came across what looked like
a disused track, this gave easy and pleasant walking and swung around gaining
height and proved an ideal way up the hill without any off path bracken
bashing. Toward the end of the wooded
section I again sat on a fallen bow in the sunshine and looked up at the trees
heading skyward to an almost iridescent blue sky above. This was proving a very enjoyable walk and
except for an occasional unexpected meeting with a fellow human being it was
just so quiet with only nature’s ever present tune playing in the
background. Whilst sitting on the fallen
bow I listened to the staccato drilling of a near woodpecker, breeze-blown
birdsong that when I stopped was ever present and an occasional bleat of a
mother sheep and accompanying lamb. I
sometimes find it hard to write about such moments, but when I close my eyes the
memories take me back to those translucent sounds as they meander across my
mindscape.
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| The view above from my rest spot |
Eventually I moved from the fallen bow and
continued ever up hill, only stopping once I reached the summit of Cefn
Dreiniog, which is free of trees and positioned on one of a number of grassed
bumps that make up the broad summit ridge of this hill. I again found another bow to sit on as the
Trimble gathered its allotted summit data.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Cefn Dreiniog |
My onward route was down toward the old house of
Ywen, before leaving the summit I took a compass bearing to direct me and then
followed a fence steeply down to a gate which gave access back in to a
wood. Sunlight dappled across dead and
crisped fallen leafs as I made good progress downhill. Woods can bring a pleasure all their own, and
this one was no exception; the dappled light, solitude and surrounds were to be
savoured.
I emerged out of the wood and followed a narrow
paved access lane down to the paved country lane which headed confidently
southward toward Meifod. I was nearing
the end of my walk, but one hill still remained; Gallt yr Ancr. Although not the highest on the day’s outing,
it was one of the most impressive. This
hill rises steeply and directly above the small community of Meifod. I’d only been to its summit once before
ascending via a public footpath from the lane to the north, today I wanted to
traverse the hill using the eastern ridge as my ascent route. I’d read online logs mentioning a series of
steep steps and a ridge path through the wooded part of the hill. This sounded very different to anything I’d
encountered during the day and I was looking forward to it.
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| Beautiful place to live |
Rounding the corner of the lane Gallt yr Ancr
shot skyward, it looked dauntingly steep to a tired body and mind. But I knew that with many rests and steps to
sit on I could take my time and follow the old mantra of just putting one foot in
front of the other and bit by bit progress can be made.
As I entered the confines of Meifod I checked on
directions to the steps and was soon hunched double panting trying forlornly to
re-gain my breath. The steps were steep,
I had to stop and sit and try and discover some semblance of normalcy. Thankfully two people were trimming back
bracken on the steep land adjacent to the steps and once I stopped, sat and
re-claimed my composure we chatted away for about ten minutes. They were brother and sister; he lived in
Pontrobert, she just below where we were.
They were hoping to create a path through the undergrowth. I was more than happy just to sit and talk,
the steps were in shade and this gave solace.
However, eventually I stood up, and continued up hill.
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| The steep steps leading up Gallt yr Ancr |
The path leading up the eastern ridge of Gallt yr
Ancr is a delight. Initially it follows
steep steps with a handrail and a single small bench for those like me who
appreciate such things on steepening ground.
The path continues traversing the ridge through conifers, I’d seldom
come across such a path in Wales. It
reminded me of traversing Pico Turquino in Cuba where only an occasional
glimpse of a view was had. Gallt yr Ancr
is about 5,500ft lower, but nonetheless this path gives a stunning little route
to its summit.
Today the summit of Gallt yr Ancr was bathed in
the most delightful and welcome afternoon sunshine, where blue skies sped
across the horizon. In the distance
pastured fields merged with hill tops, these joined valley bottoms before more
ridges and hills disappeared in to the distance. It was uplifting being on this summit. It floated above the valley with the houses
of Meifod nestled in the depths.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Gallt yr Ancr |
As the Trimble gathered summit data, I again
sat. Soon it was time to leave, but not
before taking one last look from the edge of the summit area to the forestry below
and the beginning of the steep path leading down its eastern ridge. I lingered for a few moments savouring the
scene before turning and heading down the hill’s westerly slopes.
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| Looking down on Meifod from the summit of Gallt yr Ancr |
The descent west is in contrast to the eastern
ascent route. It is open and follows a
good path down steep green slopes before joining what looks like a relatively
new gravelled access track, this brought me down to a gate and the narrow lane
where my car was parked. The walk had
taken over 7 hours with five summits surveyed.
Once back at my car I luxuriated in getting my walking boots off. I changed and enjoyed the feeling of warmth
on my body. It was only a short drive
back home where a bowl of soup and a hot bath awaited.
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| LIDAR image of Pen y Garth (S 121 135) |
LIDAR – 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 the LIDAR height
and position being used for some of these hills.
Survey Result:
Cae Bonc (significant name change)
Summit Height: 144.8m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 12918 12172 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 124.9m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 12993 12315 (LIDAR)
Drop: 19.8m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch) (100m Sub-Twmpau deletion)
Dominance: 13.71% (Trimble
GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
Bryn y Fedwen (significant name change)
Summit Height: 156.8m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 11582 12548 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 134.9m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 11523 12758 (LIDAR)
Drop: 21.8m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch) (100m Sub-Twmpau addition)
Dominance: 13.92% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Pen y Garth
Summit Height: 264.5m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 12197 13552 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 221.0m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 12444 13810 (LIDAR)
Drop: 43.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
Dominance: 16.46% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR bwlch)
Cefn Dreiniog
Summit Height: 317.1m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 14506 14701 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 228m (spot height)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 14072 14859 (spot height)
Drop: 89m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot
height bwlch) (proposed Subhump deletion)
Dominance: 28.09% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and spot
height bwlch)
Gallt yr Ancr
Summit Height: 224.6m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH
6000)
Summit Grid Reference: SJ 14573 13057 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)
Bwlch Height: 122.1m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SJ 13559 12775 (LIDAR)
Drop: 102.5m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
Dominance: 45.63% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR
bwlch)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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