Mapping Mountains – Trimble Surveys – Way Stone Edge

 

14.04.26  Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140) 

Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140)

Having just visited Dog Hill (SE 003 170) it was only a short drive on the A672 road under the busy M62 to our designated parking place, which was directly west of the summit of our last hill of the day; Way Stone Edge.

This hill is classified as a Four, and also currently as a Subhump, although LIDAR implies that its natural col still exists and therefore under Hump protocols it should be deleted from the ranks of Subs.

By now the weather was definitely turning for the worse with mid afternoon rain forecast.  This could be seen pushing in from the south as slate grey cloud slowly enveloped the surrounds.  This meant it was wise not to linger and as I exited John’s car I asked what path we were heading on, he directed me toward a gate on the opposite side of the road and I was soon on my way following a path amongst copious amounts of reed grass.

Mark and John followed with John soon taking the lead.  The bulk of Way Stone Edge rose in front looming over the bleached moor, with the path quickly turning in to a vehicle track that took us down to a stream.  Going was never difficult, although rather squashy in parts.  John fell close to the stream and floundered to get purchase on the soft grass beside the thin strip of water, I watched as he berated himself which made me smile.  I resisted the temptation of taking a photograph, which in years gone by I may well have done. 

John leading the way down to the stream

Having lost height from the road down to the stream, the up hill now started as we followed a relatively good vehicle track on the moor as it headed up toward a gate and fence, beyond which the going steepened as bleached moor turned to heather and moor grass. 

Beyond the gate and fence the going steepened

Again, the going was never difficult, but that rain was closing in and as we crested the summit plateau Mark used his hand-held GPS to zero in to the summit position.  When we reached this point I checked the LIDAR summit co-ordinates and we were still 250 metres from the high point.  Mark soon input these figures and off we went through the heather toward the LIDAR summit; when there I quickly took a few photographs as the first scuds of wind blown rain hit us. 

The summit of Way Stone Edge

Thankfully I’d taken my storm proof brolly and this was soon up sheltering me from the rain as it swept across the hill.  Our downward route followed a boggy path beside a forlorn looking fence as it headed south-westward before claiming height over the small prominence bump of White Hill. 

The downward route with White Hill in the background

The rain was not constant with only two good scuds hitting us.  As we joined a part of the Pennine Way the path improved as it crossed the summit of White Hill, this eased passage back to the road and John’s awaiting car.  The cloud all round looked threatening, this gave us incentive to quicken our pace down the hill and we arrived back to the shelter of John’s car just before more rain set in.

Way Stone Edge proved a good wild hill to end up on and all that remained was the drive back to Burnley, followed by a welcome large mug of tea and a bite to eat before the drive back to Mark’s and my onward journey to Welshpool. 

 

Survey Result:

               

Way Stone Edge 

Summit Height:  481.6m (LIDAR)  

Summit Grid Reference:  SD 99956 14046 (LIDAR) (summit relocation)

Col Height:  387.8m (LIDAR)

Col Height:  399.6m (LIDAR, natural col)

Col Grid Reference:  SE 01975 09573 (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SE 02035 09664 (LIDAR, natural col) 

Drop:  93.9m (LIDAR)

Drop:  82.1m (LIDAR, using the natural col) (proposed Subhump deletion)

Dominance:  19.49% (LIDAR)

 

 

For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet 

Mapping Mountains – Hill Reclassifications – Humps

Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140) – proposed Subhump deletion

This is the fourtieth in a series of Hill Reclassification posts that detail hills whose status has either been altered in the listing of the Humps (HUndred Metre Prominences) through map study, surveys or LIDAR analysis that I have been involved in, or it is the recommendation that their status is altered.

LIDAR summit image of Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140)

Many preceding posts detailing these hill reclassifications are retrospective as they were initiated from studying the Ordnance Survey Vector Map Local that was hosted on the Geograph website and which was entitled the Interactive Coverage Map, or from surveying with the Trimble GeoXH 6000, or from LIDAR analysis, and for this proposed deletion that affects the Humps the email I posted on the pedantic@groups.io forum in relation to this hill was dated 20.06.23.

The listing of Humps was published in book format by Lulu in 2009 and entitled More Relative Hills of Britain, its author; Mark Jackson gives credit to a number of people who contributed toward the formation of this list, these include; Eric Yeaman, Alan Dawson, Clem Clements, Rob Woodall, Bernie Hughes, Pete Ridges and others.  When the list was published in book format there were 2987 Humps listed with their criteria being any British hill that has 100m or more of drop, irrespective of their height.  Accompanying the main list is a sub category entitled Subhumps, with the criteria being any British hill that has 90m or more and below 100m of drop.

More Relative Hills of Britain by Mark Jackson

The details for this proposed deletion appear below:

The name the hill is listed by is Way Stone Edge, and it is the highest hill in its own group of hills, which are situated in the southern Pennines, and it is positioned with the M62 motorway and the A672 road to its north-west, and the A640 road to its south-east, and has the village of Denshaw towards the south south-west. 

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

This hill is currently listed as a Subhump with 94m of drop based on the 418.6m summit height ascertained from LIDAR analysis and a 388m col height, based on the spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.  The proposed deletion of this hill in the listing of the Humps (HUndred Metre Prominences) was instigated by LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips.

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

The col height of 388m for the listed drop value of 94m is taken to the A62 cutting.  The protocol followed in the listing of the Humps specifies that the height of an extant natural col is favoured over that of the height in the depth of a cutting, even if the latter is lower on the hill to hill traverse.  As LIDAR contouring implies the natural col for this hill is intact, it is this height value that should be taken for the listing of the Humps within the drop of this hill.

LIDAR col image of Way Stone Edge

Therefore, the proposed deletion of this hill from Subhump status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 481.6m summit height and a 399.6m col height, with these values giving this hill 82.1m of drop.

 

The full details for the hill are:

Name:  Way Stone Edge

OS 1:50,000 map:  109

OS 1:25,000 map:  21

Summit Height:  481.6m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SD 99953 14049 (as listed in the Humps, with LIDAR analysis giving SD 99956 14046)

Col Height:  388m (as listed in the Humps, with LIDAR analysis giving 399.6m to the natural col)

Col Grid Reference:  SE 019 095 (as listed in the Humps, with LIDAR analysis giving SE 02035 09664)

Drop:  94m (as listed in the Humps, with LIDAR analysis giving 82.1m using the natural col)

 

Myrddyn Phillips (July 2023)

 

 

 

 

 

  

Mapping Mountains – Summit Relocations – The Fours – The 400m Hills of England

Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140) 

There has been a Summit Relocation to a hill that is listed in the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140)

The criteria for the list that this summit relocation applies to are:

The Fours – The 400m Hills of England.  English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list are three categories of sub hills; the 400m Sub-Four category, the 390m Sub-Four category and the 390m Double Sub-Four category.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and the 2^nd edition of the booklet containing this list was published by Mapping Mountains Publications on the 24^th April 2018.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The name the hill is listed by is Way Stone Edge, and it is the highest hill in its own group of hills, which are situated in the southern Pennines, and it is positioned with the M62 motorway and the A672 road to its north-west, and the A640 road to its south-east, and has the village of Denshaw towards the south south-west.

When the original list that later became known as The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was first compiled, the summit position of this hill was given as SE 001 140 based on the 482m spot height that appears on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map. 

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

When the 1^st edition of the The Fours was published by Europeaklist in December 2013, the summit of this hill was relocated to SD 997 140 and listed with an estimated c 94 of drop, based on an estimated c 482m summit height and a 388m col height, with the former estimated from interpolation of the uppermost 480m ring contour and the latter based on the spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map.

This was also the summit height and position given for this hill when the 2^nd edition of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was published by Mapping Mountains Publications in April 2018.

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales. 

LIDAR summit image of Way Stone Edge (SD 999 140)

LIDAR analysis gives the highest ground on this hill as 481.6m positioned at SD 99956 14046, and this comes within the parameters of the Summit Relocations used within this page heading, these parameters are:

The term Summit Relocations applies to when the high point is positioned in a different field, to a different feature such as a conifer plantation, within a different map contour, a different point where a number of potential summit positions are within close proximity, when natural ground or the natural and intact summit is confirmed compared to a higher point such as a raised field boundary or covered reservoir that is considered a relatively recent man-made construct, or a relocation of approximately 100 metres or more in distance from either the position of a map spot height or from where the summit of the hill was previously thought to exist.

Therefore, the summit height produced by LIDAR analysis is 481.6m and this is positioned at SD 99956 14046.  This position is not given a spot height on the contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger and 1:25,000 Explorer map and is approximately 145 metres westward from where the 482m spot height appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and approximately 160 metres eastward from where the summit position was previously given which was ascertained from hand-held GPS co-ordinates submitted to DoBIH.

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Way Stone Edge

Name:  Way Stone Edge

OS 1:50,000 map:  109

Summit Height:  481.6m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference (New Position):  SD 99956 14046 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  387.8m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SE 01975 09573 (LIDAR)

Drop:  93.9m (LIDAR)

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (July 2023)