Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Brown Clee Hill

05.04.22  Clows Top (SO 716 717)

LIDAR image of Clows Top (SO 716 717)

The day before visiting this hill Charles Everett sat with map in hand going through the Tumps he had not bagged in this area, I then noted each hill and the ten figure grid reference for their summit.  Our main surveying objective for the day was Abberley Hill (SO 751 672), but Charles also wanted to visit at least four other summits.  Clows Top was not one of these hills, so after visiting and surveying the first summit on our mini bagging expedition; Church Hill (SO 710 731), I expected our next port of call would be the summit of Abberley Hill to our south.  However, another P30 lurked just a mile or so from our present position, and we were soon pulled up on a grass verge adjacent to where a public footpath sign pointed us in the direction of its summit.

From the small village at its base the summit of Clows Top is hidden from view, and the route to its summit proved similar to many such hills of comparable height, with one or two obstacles having to be overcome before the high point is reached.

Close to where we parked a public footpath led between houses with Charles dealing with all overhanging branches and vegetation on the way.  When the continuation of this route started heading down toward a field, we veered right on a dried earthen slope leading up to ground above a small industrial site.  We later chose a route down through this site as our descent, which simplified matters and took us straight back to my awaiting car.

As ground levelled we headed between high fir trees toward a fence which gave access to the summit area.  Close to the high point stood a small brick building of unusual design which we were later told was an old military observation post.

Once I had chosen the position for Trimble placement I set the equipment up and waited until the 0.1m accuracy level was obtained before data should be logged.  This took an inordinate amount of time, probably due to its position with the bricked building relatively close and high fir trees above.  However, once the required accuracy level appeared on the screen I pressed ‘Log’ and sat on the steps of the bricked building, whilst Charles lay on the ground a few metres away relaxing in the intermittent sunshine that tantalisingly appeared. 

Gathering data at the summit of Clows Hill 

As we waited for the Trimble to do its stuff, a Red Kite appeared gliding across the sky; it quickly disappeared behind the high fir trees, before silently re-appearing circling overhead.  This made a pleasant distraction from the long wait for the Trimble to achieve the required accuracy level and then to gather data. 

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 set-up position at the summit of Clows Top

Once data were gathered and stored I packed the equipment away and we headed down toward a track which gave access to the small industrial site.  This gave us a quicker and more convenient route back to my car.  Next stop the summit of Abberley Hill. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Clows Top

Summit Height:  231.9m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 71666 71743 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  154.1m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 73186 69331 (LIDAR)

Drop:  77.7m (LIDAR)

Dominance:  33.52% (LIDAR)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

 

 

 

 

  

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Brown Clee Hill

 

05.04.22  Church Hill (SO 710 731)

LIDAR image of Church Hill (SO 710 731)

Church Hill was the first summit survey of the day during a planned five hill mini expedition, with the priority being a survey of Abberley Hill (SO 751 672).  For Abberley Hill we wanted to survey its summit and col and also investigate the disused rail cutting positioned below a road bridge, with the latter currently constituting the height and position of its col.

I was out with Charles Everett for the day, who had petitioned me for a number of years to survey Abberley Hill.  The onset of Covid-19 and its resulting restrictions over the last two years had limited our intention to visit this area.  But with restrictions now lifted we set off from Welshpool heading south.  The weather forecast was set fine for the day and importantly with it being the start of spring, few leaves would be on the trees to interfere with satellite reception for the survey equipment.

Before visiting the summit of Church Hill we surveyed and assessed the Abberley Hill col.  We then headed a mile or so farther south and parked next to a telephone kiosk in the small community of Bayton Common giving us easy access to Church Hill, with its summit rising just to the north.

Church Hill is one of a number of P30s situated between the small town of Cleobury Mortimer to its north-west and the city of Worcester to its south-east, and it was the northerly part of this land that we concentrated on for our bagging and surveying exploits of the day.

From our starting point the upper hill could just be seen as a few scattered grazing fields peering over a rogue house or two.  Because of this the hill gave a rather none-descript impression from this direction.  However, there are many such hills of similar height that give the same first impression, and upon visiting them, each in turn have a quality that is worth investigating.

The ascent of the hill was pleasant enough, as we made our way up the road which I had just driven down and headed on to the hill via a gate on our left.  Beyond the gate the ground rose leading up toward a barb wired fence with the summit triangulation pillar beyond. 

Charles approaching the summit of Church Hill

A cooling breeze blew across the upper hill as we made our way to its high point.  As we arrived on top we soon got to work; me assessing the lay of land for the summit position and Trimble placement, and Charles taking a cast of the flush bracket attached to the trig pillar. 

Gathering data at the summit of Church Hill

Having chosen the spot for Trimble placement I set the equipment up to gather its first summit data set of the day and then walked over to join Charles, who was relaxing lying on the grass, he was positively chilled out with an expansive view as backdrop. 

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 set-up position at the summit of Church Hill

Once five minutes of data were gathered and stored I closed the equipment down, took a few photographs, packed the Trimble away and we then headed down following or inward route back to my awaiting car. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Church Hill

Summit Height:  229.9m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 71032 73113 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Col Height:  198.0m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SO 71034 72470 (LIDAR)

Drop:  31.9m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  13.88% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Stiperstones

 

26.08.21  Hargrave Bank (SJ 312 095) 

Hargrave Bank (SJ 312 095)

Until recently this hill remained unclassified and then Joe Nuttall produced his summit analysis programme and the hill classification world was turned upside down.  One end product of the phenomenal work that Joe has done is the recently acquired status of Hargrave Bank as a Tump. 

When I saw the grid reference for this hill on the Hill Bagging website, I knew it was positioned close to where I live, and when I checked it against an Ordnance Survey map I smiled, as it is literally over the brow of the northerly part of Cefn Digoll (Long Mountain) just a few miles from Welshpool.  I’ve waited ever since to visit. 

The impetus to visit materialised when Mark Trengove suggested meeting up to visit Roundton Hill (SO 294 949) and I wondered if we could tag Hargrave Bank on as a small preliminary walk. 

Mark arrived at my home at 10.30am and we sat in the back garden with a morning coffee chatting about a variety of subjects, some related to hills, many others went off in all sorts of tangents, which can be the norm when I get enthused with conversation. 

We took two cars for each walk and found parking for the ascent of Hargrave Bank to the north-west of its summit, adjacent to a sharp bend in the paved lane that passes the hill and works its way down to the flat lands below. 

I had booked a table for two for a meal at The Raven at 6.15pm, but we were in no particular rush and with the morning clag now burnt off and the cloud broken, and the strength of early afternoon sun warming proceedings, it seemed our first walk of the day was perfectly timed. 

From our starting point an old green lane makes its way toward the west of the hill; this connects one part of the paved lane with another, passing one or two tucked away houses on the way.  The old green lane is muddied in places and narrows in its upper part.  We followed it southward with its muddied depths at contrast to the warming sunshine on the fields either side. 

The old lane leading to the hill

Leaving the quiet surrounds of the green lane we headed over a gate leading eastward on a track slowly gaining height around the upper northerly part of Hargrave Bank.  The view now opened up, in front the flatlands of the Shropshire Plain and the rising profile of The Wrekin, whilst to our left the Breiddin rising above the small community of Middletown.  With the latter an unusual perspective for me, with the profile of the Breiddin back to front compared to the view of these hills I am used to. 

The track leading toward the upper field

We left the track to gain the upper field through a gate and proceeded to follow a vehicle track through planted barley.  This shone golden and meandered in the early afternoon comforting breeze that gently blew across the hill. 

Heading toward the summit

Hargrave Bank has a triangulation pillar at its summit, with its highest point just a few metres from its base.  We assessed the lay of land and discussed where the high point lay and once decided upon, the Trimble was soon set up gathering data.  During data collection I sat beside Mark at the trig pillar looking out across to the Stiperstones and the sun kissed county of Shropshire. 

Gathering data at the summit of Hargrave Bank

Once the Trimble had done its stuff and gathered and stored summit data, I closed it down, packed it away and we reversed our inward route back down to the muddied old green lane and continued following this up to its high point, which also constitutes the col of this hill. 

The Trimble set-up position at the summit of Hargrave Bank

Again, the Trimble was soon set up gathering its all-important data.  During data collection we each stood a distance away from the equipment on opposing sides from it, as this part of the lane was used for access to a near house and led off the continuation of the paved lane we had driven on an hour or so earlier.  Thankfully no vehicles appeared and the Trimble soon gathered col data and was safely packed away. 

Gathering data at the col of Hargrave Bank

All that remained was to reverse our inward route down the green lane back to my car.  We got delayed on the way due to a buddleia bush which was festooned in butterflies, they darted this way and that, a myriad of colours, all beautiful as sunshine glinted off their delicate wings. 

A Comma enjoying a buddleia

We stopped watching the butterflies for quite some time and were soon joined by the woman whose garden the buddleia plant was a part of.  She had moved here with her husband three years ago from Sussex and seemed to be revelling in the experience.  Leaving the butterflies it was only a short distance back to the two cars and away we went, heading toward Churchstoke for our second walk of the day; the excellent Roundton Hill. 

 

Survey Result: 

 

Hargrave Bank

Summit Height:  324.5m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SJ 31297 09513  

Col Height:  294.3m (converted to OSGM15)

Col Grid Reference:  SJ 31054 09130

Drop:  30.2m

Dominance:  9.31%

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

 

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Bleaklow Head

02.07.19  Wincobank Hill (SK 377 910)

Wincobank Hill (SK 377 910)

With the weather settled and a number of days relaxing with Pinger; a good friend who lives in Grimesthorpe in Sheffield, I looked for a suitable Tump to visit.  The wooded hill behind Pinger’s house was ideal and is listed as Wincobank in the Tumps. 

Prior to visiting this hill I asked Tracy; another friend who has lived all her life in Sheffield and who lives in the area known as Wincobank, whether this hill has a name, she replied; Wincobank Hill.

Pinger then conducted online research and found various sites that name the hill as Wincobank Hill.  Ideally all that was now required was a notice board at the start of the north-eastern approach to the summit from the top of Jenkin Road proclaiming that this hill is in fact named Wincobank Hill.

Detail from the information board at the start of the walk

I drove to an estate just below the top of Jenkin Road; a steep road made famous on the 2^nd stage of the 2014 Tour de France.  Having parked we sauntered the short distance beside the road to a track conveniently aiming its cobbled and greened way toward the summit of the hill.

The cobbled track leading toward the summit of Wincobank Hill

Enclosing the summit area is an ancient hill fort with debate concerning its age.  The upper embankment encircles a large area now greened with stunted oak, grasses and a rogue bramble or two.  As we chatted and made progress up the cobbled track the first potential summit position sprang up on our right, thankfully this was relatively open to satellite reception and within a few minutes the Trimble was set up on top of my rucksack and data were gathered.  During this Ping sat on a near seat and waited patiently, enjoying the warmth of the day and our unrushed little outing.

The first of three potential summit positions

Following the track further south-west and another rise on the right gave the second potential high point of the hill; this has heather on it and is close to one of many stunted oak trees.  Once data were gathered and stored we continued south-westward and joined the inner embankment to follow this round the northern part of the upper hill.

The second of three potential summit positions

Pinger on the inner embankment making our way to its high point

The embankment also has two points that vie for summit position, each either side of the cobbled track and of similar height.  One of these positions was Trimbled but as the equipment was positioned under a tree with summer greenery all around I suspect the data will be compromised.  We waited over an hour before I pressed Log, during which conversation flowed and Pinger collected varieties of grasses.

The third of three potential summit positions

Happy with our endeavours we followed the cobbled track back to the car and drove the short distance westward to where Bluebell Road intersects with Honeysuckle Road.  This is where the col of Wincobank Hill is positioned.

Gathering data at the col of Wincobank Hill whilst Pinger enjoys the jelly babies

It was relatively easy to judge where the uphill and downhill of the valley to valley and hill to hill traverses met and once I positioned the car in a suitable spot I gathered data from its roof having measured the offset between the Trimble’s internal antenna and the ground below.  All that remained was to munch on the jelly babies that Ping had just bought from a corner shop!

LIDAR image of Wincobank Hill (SK 377 910)

Postscript:  Since the survey of this hill, the LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique is being used to produce accurate height and position for hills.  Subsequently this hill has been analysed via this technique, and it is the summit result that is being prioritised in preference to that produced by the Trimble GeoXH 6000.

Survey Result:

Wincobank Hill (significant name change)

Summit Height:  161.0m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SK 37770 91011 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  122.0m (converted to OSGM15, Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Col Grid Reference:  SK 37574 91286 (Trimble GeoXH 6000)

Drop:  39.1m (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

Dominance:  24.27% (Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit and LIDAR col)

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Hegdon Hill

30.01.18  Grendon Green / The Firs (SO 598 573)

The summit of Grendon Green / The Firs

When in 1992 The Relative Hills of Britain was published by Cicerone Press, Alan Dawson listed this hill as a Marilyn with a summit height of 252m and by the name of Grendon Green.  This hill’s status was soon changed as in 1997 The Hewitts and Marilyns of England was published by TACit Tables and the accolade of Marilyn was now given to Hegdon Hill (SO 585 539) with a summit height of 254m, both values were based on map heights given to triangulation pillars.  The current listing for both hills give Hegdon Hill as 255m high with 157m of drop, and Grendon Green as 254m high with 41m of drop, with the summit height for Hegdon Hill taken from a spot height on the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer maps and the summit height for Grendon Green taken from a spot height on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website.  Part of my plan today was to survey each hill and see if the Trimble could distinguish which is higher.

The forecast for the day was good until mid-afternoon and as I dropped Lou off at Shrub Hill railway station for her commute in to Birmingham the sky was a sublime colour, with delicate streaks of pink and yellow backed by a midday blue that forever got lighter as the sun rose casting slight warmth on a frost encrusted land.

I drove west toward Bromyard and on to Bredenbury before parking on the edge of a track that forms a T-junction with the A 44.  I’d read logs on Hill Bagging that the high point of this hill is either close to a large water tower on the track that leads from the main road to the farm of Batchley, or it was in an adjacent field which a gate gave access to.  The summit area of the hill also has a trig pillar which logs said was difficult to find as it is immersed in a thick hedge surrounded by nettles and barbed wire.

Leaving the car I walked up the track and used the first gate I came to and headed in to a field, following its perimeter to another gate which gave access to the field immediately west of the track and where the trig is positioned.  I quickly judged the high point of this field which was adjacent to a fence and a number of trees which combine with the thick hedge where the trig is hiding, and then set the Trimble up on top of my rucksack.  As it slowly crept down to the 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged I spent time assessing the land to the immediate east of this field and as the ground rose from where the Trimble was positioned to the land where the track leads to Batchley farm I decided to close the Trimble down before it had gathered any data and set it up on the high point of land close to or on the track.

The field known as The Harps to the immediate west of the track to Batchley farm

Once out of the field and on the track it wasn’t hard to judge where its high point lay, and I quickly assembled the Trimble on top of my rucksack and waited for the 0.1m accuracy level to be attained, during this I chatted with a woman from a near house the other side of the large water tower as she was leaving in her car, this conversation lasted a number of minutes but as I waved her off the Trimble had still not achieved its accuracy level.  A few minutes later a van drove up the track toward the farm, I flagged it down explaining what I was doing and the driver was good enough to avoid the Trimble and rucksack as he drove past.  However, after this a dog ran up the track from the farm followed by a woman, the dog seemed particularly enamoured by my rucksack which caused the accuracy level in the Trimble to bounce back up which resulted in more minutes waiting for the 0.1m accuracy level to be attained.

Looking south with the Trimble set up on top of my rucksack just on the left of the top of the track

The woman was Mary Whitfield Jones, and she was the farmer from Batchley, I explained what I was doing and she said ‘oh you’re another one, I had one over a while ago, like buses you are, I expect you’re looking for the trig pillar, it’s over there buried in the undergrowth, come with me I’ll show you where it is.’  I thanked her for her offer but told her I didn’t have much interest in hunting out trigs but was interested in gathering data from the top of her track and I was also interested in the name of the hill, to this Mary said ‘he was from Marlow in Buckinghamshire, and only interested in Marilyns,’ I smiled at this and wondered who this was.

Mary Whitfield Jones

Once Mary realised I had little interest in the trig pillar we concentrated on the name of the hill, however before we could get to grips with its name she whizzed off to get the man who had earlier driven up the track as he was there to do a bit of work on the farm for her.  By now I thought the accuracy level in the Trimble must have reached 0.1m, and so it had, so I pressed ‘Log’ and wandered back down the track to await the return of Mary.

Within a couple of minutes she was back and we were talking about the hill, she told me that the actual hill had no name, or at least she did not know of one, I asked about the name of Grendon Green which is prominent on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, she explained that this is strictly applicable to the land at the end of the track where the T-junction is with the A 44 road, and that the end house is named Grendon and that it’s a little disappointing as there isn’t even a triangle of green to lay claim to the name.

I then asked Mary if the bounded land where the Trimble was placed had a name, she told me that it is known as The Firs, by this stage she’d also told me that she had lived at the farm for 42 years and was born and bred in Herefordshire.  I asked about the name of The Firs, Mary explained that the land between the two grazing fields to the west and the east once had conifers on it and that’s why it is known as The Firs, she suggested I should look on the Tithe map (which I do, but mainly for Welsh hills), I then asked her about the two adjacent fields and she said that the field to the west is known as The Harps and the field to the east is known as the Front Meadow.  Before leaving to inspect sheep with the man who had arrived in the van she again offered to show me the trig pillar, I smiled and said that I should now turn the equipment off as it had probably gathered sufficient data.

Gathering data at the summit of Grendon Green / The Firs

During our conversation we also discussed the high point of the hill, Mary thought that it was in the adjacent easterly field and in hindsight I should of asked permission to take a data set from here, but I had already judged this to be slightly lower and as I wanted to visit and survey Hegdon Hill and the two summits of Seager Hill and get back to Worcester in sufficient time for a meal followed by a visit to the cinema with Lou, my priority led me back to my car, waving to Mary on the way.  What a fantastic woman, full of enthusiasm and knowledge. 

Survey Result: 

Grendon Green / The Firs (suggested significant name change)

Summit Height:  253.6m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 59900 57311

Drop:  c 41m

Dominance:  15.99%

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Walton Hill

29.01.18  Leopard Hill (SO 872 555) and Elbury Hill (SO 869 558)

The summit of Leopard Hill

Having visited Worcester on a number of occasions over the last two years I thought it time that I investigated the highest part of the city.  This accolade had been accorded Leopard Hill which is positioned in the eastern part of the city and is hemmed in by three B roads and a number of housing estates; thankfully the upper part of the hill has escaped development and gives a brief interlude from the concrete and brick that large conurbations bring.

Leopard Hill is given a 98m summit spot height on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and is crowned by a metal fenced water tower.  To the north-west of the hill are further areas of land that have escaped urban housing estates, these are Elbury Hill and Gorse Hill, the latter is given a 92m summit spot height on the Ordnance Survey Interactive Coverage Map hosted on the Geograph website, whilst the former is tantalizingly also given a 98m summit spot height on this same map.  However, the summit area of Elbury Hill has a number of covered reservoirs positioned on or close to this hill’s high point and as these structures are frowned upon as far as the natural height of a hill is concerned I wanted to investigate and see if an on-site visit and a survey with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 could confirm which hill is higher.

Before detailing my visit it’s best to mention that the summit of Elbury Hill is shown with a triangular symbol on the Ordnance Survey Six-Inch map published in 1886, which is given the height of 323ft (98.5m) on the Six-Inch map published in 1905.  The latter map has a covered reservoir marked to the north of the triangular symbol, whilst the map from 1886 just has the symbol; this implies that the 323ft (98.5m) height was taken to natural ground before the covered reservoir was constructed.  The TrigpointingUK website details a block that replaced a pillar in 1970 and which is adjacent to a mast that stands in one of two covered reservoir compounds and therefore is off limits for budding surveyors, this mast is also recorded in the OS Trig Database at SO 86872 55812, unfortunately a height is not recorded for it.  The 323ft (98.5m) height would have been to the old pillar which is given the position of SO 86915 55816 in TrigpointingUK.  

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Six-Inch map published in 1886

Extract from the Ordnance Survey Six-Inch map published in 1905

I parked between the two hills just off the B 4537 Tolladine Road and walked to its high point which is where the col between the hills is positioned, and continued down the road looking for a public footpath giving access to the northern part of Leopard Hill, when found this led through a housing estate toward the upper part of the hill, with the continuation of the path beyond the houses mud splattered from the morning’s rain.

The high point of Tolladine Road

The afternoon’s forecast was good and deep grey cloud interspersed with radiant blue gave a dramatic colour to proceedings.  The muddy path led up to rougher grass and the summit area of Leopard Hill with its metal fence and squat water tower.  I walked around the compound and assessed the ground from various directions and judged land to the west of and adjacent to the structure to be the highest.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Leopard Hill

Thankfully the Trimble achieved its 0.1m accuracy level before data should be logged relatively quickly, and as it beeped away gathering the allotted 300 individual data points I stood back and admired the view, which took in much of Worcester and the Malvern hills beyond.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 set-up position at the summit of Leopard Hill

Once data were stored I retraced my inward route back to the B road and walked back up to the connecting col between the hills and followed a footpath on the right which led across Elbury Park Road and continued to a track giving access to the upper part of Elbury Hill.  On my way up I passed and said hello to a couple of dog walkers as the sky turned a menacing grey colour and which kept the sun at bay for the majority of the duration I was on top of the hill.

The track continued around the upper northern part of the hill, whilst I opted to leave it favouring wooden steps that led directly to the summit area.  There are two large fenced compounds on the summit of Elbury Hill, whilst the ground between is open.  I spent a number of minutes assessing the lay of land and having judged the high point to be on the open ground close to its periphery and only just higher than the encircling brambles, vegetation and small trees, I placed the Trimble on top of my rucksack, measured the offset between its internal antenna and the ground below and waited for five minutes of data to be collected.

Gathering data from where I judged the summit of Elbury Hill to be positioned with the southerly of the two compounds and where the high mast is positioned, in the background

During data collection I investigated the compounds, took a number of photos and admired the view overlooking Worcester with the Malvern hills beyond, I also contemplated the open ground where the Trimble was placed and wondered if the whole of this hill’s summit including the open ground consists of one big covered reservoir, or if it consists of a number of these structures, but as the majority of covered reservoirs I have seen on top of hills have been situated in fenced compounds, I thought the open ground to be an indicator that a covered reservoir is not below it.  Once five minutes of data were stored I walked the perimeter path around each of the fenced compounds, the second of which houses the high mast and OS block and which is out of bounds, and then used the wooden steps as my descent route.

Looking through the metal fence in to the northern compound

Worcester with the Malvern hills beyond

Before heading back to my car I contemplated getting a data set from the col, which would at least give a drop value for the lower of these two hills.  However, Tolladine Road was particularly busy and it would have meant placing the Trimble in severe peril, which I am prone to do on occasion, this time I was happy enough to turn my back on the col and wander down the road to my car. 

Survey Result:

Leopard Hill

Summit Height:  97.2m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 87286 55551

Drop:  c 25m (col swap with Elbury Hill)

Dominance:  25.92%

Elbury Hill

Summit Height:  97.4m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 86900 55854 (recommended summit relocation for qualifying Tump)

Drop:  c 53m (col swap with Leopard Hill)

Dominance:  54.84%

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet

Although the recommendation is to swap the position of the col and therefore the drop value and status as Tump of these two hills, the height difference produced by surveying with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 is not great.  However, the resulting data is the best available at hand, with the caveat that higher ground may exist close to where the Trimble was placed on Leopard Hill and that higher ground may exist in the southern compound close to, or at the position of the high mast on top of Elbury Hill.  The added complication are the covered reservoirs on Elbury Hill and whether the open ground between the two compounds can be thought of as being natural.