21.11.14 Pt. 87.3m (SH 607 398), Ynys Berfedd (SH 599 398), Ynys Glog (SH 596 398) and Ynys Gron (SH 596 392)
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| Ynys Glog (SH 596 398) |
When in the early 1800’s the earthen embankment,
now known as the Cob, was built to re-claim land from the large tidal estuary
of the Afon Glaslyn, the land of Traeth Mawr which up until then was flooded at
high water, was left as flat land used by local landowners for agricultural
purposes and grazing. These flatlands of
Traeth Mawr are punctuated by drainage dykes and forested islands that spring
up from the flat plain. It was some of
these islands that are connected to the higher peaks of the Moelwynion we wanted to visit.
For more detail relating to Traeth Mawr and the
landlocked islands please refer to Aled Williams’ article ‘The Islands of Traeth Mawr’.
In February of this year I’d met Aled and we had
visited three of these landlocked islands and found them challenging with
overgrown undergrowth, overhanging cliffs and a beauty all to themselves, they
seemed a hidden other world, seldom visited and yet full of interest.
Today Aled suggested a circular walk with the
possibility of visiting five of these islands.
We parked close to a road junction next to houses at SH 605 388 and
walked north-west up the road to where a footpath heads north-east following
the course of the railway line. By now
the forecast rain had started and throughout the day it remained, with occasional
periods where the wet stuff would relent, teasing us that it had ended.
The first of the day’s islands is positioned at
SH 610 396 and has an 81m spot height on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 and
enlarged Geograph map, unusually there is a five metre difference in height
compared to the 1:50,000 map which has an 86m spot height for the island’s high
point. As we approached the sound of
forestry workers and their accompanying diggers and tree fellers rang out from
the wooded slopes, we soon decided to bi-pass this island as it could wait for
another, quieter day.
The footpath headed north to the attractive
Ty-fry where the occupant was quick to see us, he soon asked if we had seen the
warning notices relating to the tree felling.
A rather humorous discussion then developed between us trying to explain
that we had not, and him insisting that we must have.
After our brief encounter we were left in peace
to investigate a small corner of the land above Traeth Mawr. The first island we visited is unnamed on Ordnance Survey maps and as I don't know an appropriate name either locally or historically for it, it is being listed by the point (Pt. 87m) notation. My
recollection of our previous island walk was that they are well protected
upthrusts of rock with bramble, small trees, bracken and scrub undergrowth
making uphill progress interesting. The first
of the day’s islands was similar as it swept us up in its clutches. Forward progress was pathless and consisted
of finding a route past a small rock terrace to the high part of the hill.
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| Heading up the small rock terrace on our way to the high point of Pt. 87m |
As we crested the upper ridge the rain had
stopped leaving in its place a monochrome stillness only punctuated by the late
autumnal rusts of bracken and leaves.
The high point was easy to find and as the Trimble gathered its data we
looked out onto the flat lands as they extended toward Moel y Gest.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Pt. 87m |
Our next objective; Ynys Berfedd was due west
with an intervening bwlch between, this I wanted to survey. We stumbled through the undergrowth down to a
track which led us toward the bwlch which was positioned on a narrow track with
steep island slopes of rock on one side.
The Trimble took an age to attain its 0.1m accuracy before data can be
logged, but it eventually did, and the customary five minutes of data were gathered
and stored.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Ynys Berfedd |
From the bwlch we clambered over a fence and
into the undergrowth of Ynys Berfedd, our next wee island. Ahead was a moss strewn lump of rock well
protected by small trees. Again progress
was interesting and as the high point was neared so the drop immediately to the
north increased.
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| The initial ascent of Ynys Berfedd |
The high point proved to be a small pointed rock
immediately over a vertical drop down to trees and oblivion, not a place to
slip. Aled devised an ingenious
surveying method where the Trimble could be attached to his rucksack which lay
neatly beside the high point. This
enabled its internal antenna to be aligned to the high point of the hill but
remain safely strapped to the rucksack and even though it was perched on a
small pointed rock it would not topple into Trimble hell as the rucksack would
hold it firmly in place.
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Balanced over another big drop the Trimble gathers data from the top of Ynys Berfedd
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| Clipped onto Aled's rucksack which nestled safely away from the drop, the Trimble could live for another data gathering day |
When the Trimble was gathering data we disappeared
into a vegetated morass of trees, rock and bramble and waited for it to gather
five minutes of data. Once stored it was
safely unclipped and quickly put back in its holder before we headed down towards
the Afon Glaslyn and more undergrowth mayhem of our next island; Ynys Glog.
Thankfully the high point of Ynys Glog was free
of trees and consisted of moss on a rock which, although close to a big drop,
was not directly over it. Although
similar in nature each island has its own intimate character, as a whole they
form a unique landscape for Wales, with their rock upthrusts and undergrowth
adding entertaining interest.
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| Gathering data at the summit of Ynys Glog |
We backtracked from the summit to the connecting
bwlch which is on a narrow lane beside a house, once the Trimble had done its
stuff we left the confines of rock, tree and bramble and headed south on a
footpath into the openness of green flatland.
Looking back Ynys Glog looked rather dramatic as it literally shot up from
the flat plain as an uncompromising rock edifice.
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| Gathering data at the critical bwlch of Ynys Glog |
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These islands are well protected, Ynys Glog from its critical bwlch
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| Ynys Glog is an upthrust of rock rising from the flat plain of Traeth Mawr |
The footpath led towards our last objective of
the day; Ynys Gron which at one time was the highest island in these
parts. Old maps show the top with a 323ft
/ 98m summit. This has long gone as the
Garth Quarry has now obliterated the old natural high point. However, what remains had been on the agenda
for a number of months and coupled with a survey of its critical bwlch may
elevate the hill back into the ranks of P30.
Our visit was clandestine as the quarry is still
operating. We headed up through a mass
of brambles and trees with Aled leading the way, nearing the top he went ahead
and looked over the parapet and came back and said that the high point was just
over the lip of quarry spoil that we were now standing on. This spoil is steep and compact, we edged our
way up and looked onto a relatively flat summit area with a small and easily
distinguishable high point; beyond was an open expanse of hill nothingness, now
the inner workings of the quarry. We quickly
crept back down the steep spoil and I switched the Trimble on and once the file
had been created I sneaked back up, placed it on the high point, activated it
to attain its accuracy and quickly disappeared out of sight of the quarry. A couple of minutes later and I crept back up
and pressed ‘Log’ and then disappeared out of view.
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| Gathering data at the high point of Ynys Gron |
During this Aled investigated the adjoining land
at the edge of the quarry spoil, thankfully blasting was not taking place but
the quarry vehicles below could be heard.
Once five minutes of data were collected we shot up to the high point
and took a few photographs, we were now in full view of anyone still working in
the quarry. As dusk was setting in and
as the diggers below had now stopped we decided to have a look around the upper
part of the hill and took another data set from a lower point that was more
overgrown. Once the data from this point
had been stored we sped down through the undergrowth to the bwlch.
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| The remains of Ynys Gron is overshadowed by the Garth Quarry |
When we arrived at the bwlch it was dimly lit
with the last vestiges of light from a late November afternoon. The bwlch was narrow and confined with a
large wall and trees overshadowing it.
Eventually the Trimble was placed on the wall above the bwlch and an offset
of 1.5m measured. By the time it had
stored its data it was dark and raining heavily.
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| At the very wet and very dark critical bwlch of Ynys Gron |
We descended by torch light and got soaked as we
made our way down the track from the bwlch onto the road which led back to the
car. There are more of these islands to
investigate and I can’t wait to do so as they are proving ideal winter
expeditions. Once back at the car we
revised our planned walk up Moel y Dyniewyd for tomorrow and decided to
investigate some more of the islands of Traeth Mawr.
Survey Result:
Pt. 87.3m
Summit Height: 87.3m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 60724 39845
Drop c 38m
Dominance: 43.51%
Ynys Berfedd
Summit Height: 42.9m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 59943 39865
Dominance: 84.06%
Ynys Glog
Summit Height: 40.6m (converted to OSGM15)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 59647 39826
Dominance: 80.44% (Dominant addition confirmed)
