Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau

Yr Allt (SO 056 162)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill initially determined by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams and subsequently by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Willams on the 19^th April 2019.

Yr Allt (SO 056 162) with the Bannau Brycheiniog beyond

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Yr Uchafion – Welsh hills at or above 500m in height with 15m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the Introduction to this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 4^th November 2015.

500m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height with 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 500m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height with 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips.

The hill is adjoined to the Cymoedd Gwent group of hills, which are situated in the eastern part of South Wales (Region C, Sub-Region C2), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-west and above the Pentwyn Reservoir to its south-west, and has the towns of Merthyr Tudful to its south and Aberhonddu (Brecon) to its north.

The hill first made an appearance in an unpublished hill list in 1985 when Tony Blackburn listed it as Pant y Creigiau in The 500 Metre Tops of England and Wales.  When this hill was first included in the listings that later became known as Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau it was also listed by this same name.

Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, with little regard for the meaning of names and to what feature the name is appropriately applied to and little consideration for its local or historic confirmation.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name information can be improved either by historic research and / or local enquiry.  In the case of this hill the name of Pant y Creigiau appears near to the summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps. 

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

It was during the compilation of the Yr Uchafion list that I first made place-name enquiries with local farmers, grazers and landowners, and it was during this process that the name of Yr Allt was confirmed as being appropriate for this hill.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau is Yr Allt and this was derived from contemporary Ordnance Survey maps and confirmed locally as appropriate.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Cymoedd Gwent

Name:  Yr Allt

Previously Listed Name:  Pant y Creigiau

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Height:  564.7m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 05633 16201

Bwlch Height:  493.5m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 07090 15748

Drop:  71.2m

For details on the Trimble survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau

Banc yr Haul (SN 802 828)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau, with the drop and status of the hill initially determined by a basic levelling survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips on the 22^nd July 2000 and confirmed by a level and staff line survey conducted by Graham Jackson and Myrddyn Phillips on the 19^th February 2010, with subsequent LIDAR summit analysis conducted by Aled Williams and the summit height, bwlch height and their locations determined by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips on the 10^th April 2019.

Banc yr Haul (SN 802 828)

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Yr Uchafion – Welsh hills at or above 500m in height that have 15m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the Introduction to this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 4^th November 2015.

500m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 500m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips.

The hill is adjoined to the Elenydd group of hills which are situated in the central part of the Mid and West Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned with the A44 road to its west, north and east, and has the villages of Ponterwyd towards the west south-west and Llangurig towards the east south-east.

Graham during the line survey of Banc yr Haul

Graham beside the summit of Banc yr Haul during our line survey

The hill first made an appearance in a hill list in 1997 when John Kirk listed it in his Kirk’s BIG Mountain List as Hirgoed Ddu (S), using a name that appeared to the north of the hill on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps of the day, this list remains unpublished but is available via enquiry with the author.

When this hill was first included in the listings that later became known as Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau it was listed by the directional name of Cripiau South South-east Top, with this name being taken from the hill positioned to its north north-west.

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

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on the map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore if a hill was seemingly unnamed on the map I either invented a name or used a combination of a directional name for it.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name information can be improved either by historic research and / or local enquiry.

It was during the compilation of the Yr Uchafion list that I first made place-name enquiries with local farmers, grazers and landowners, during this process there were many people who gave me an enormous amount of information and one of these was Erwyd Howells who worked as a shepherd, and is now an author and another person who realises the insignificant and importance of documenting upland place-names, and it was Erwyd who gave the name of Banc yr Haul for this hill.

The Trimble GeoXH 6000 gathering data at the summit of Banc yr Haul

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau is Banc yr Haul and this was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Banc yr Haul

Previously Listed Name:  Cripiau South South-east Top

OS 1:50,000 map:  135, 136

Summit Height:  525.6m (converted to OSGM15)

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 80202 82864

Bwlch Height:  495.0m (converted to OSGM15)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SN 80293 82632

Drop:  30.6m (line survey and Trimble GeoXH 6000)

For details on the Trimble survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau

Glanfeinion Hill (SO 033 846)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Leica 530 survey conducted by John Barnard, Graham Jackson and Myrddyn Phillips on the 10^th February 2010, with a subsequent Trimble GeoXH 6000 summit survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips on the 4^th August 2018.

Glanfeinion Hill (SO 033 846)

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Yr Uchafion – Welsh hills at or above 500m in height that have 15m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the Introduction to this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 4^th November 2015.

500m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 500m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips.

The hill is adjoined to the Pegwn Mawr group of hills which are situated in the Mid and West Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B1), and it is positioned with the A 470 road and the Afon Hafren (River Severn) to its north-west and the A 483 road to its east, and has the small community of Llandinam towards the north and the town of Llanidloes towards the west.

The hill first made an appearance in an unpublished hill list in 1985 when Tony Blackburn listed it as top N Caelluest in The 500 Metre Tops of England and Wales.  When this hill was first included in the listings that later became known as Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau it was listed by the name of Waun Lluestowain.  This is a name that appeared to the east of this hill’s summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps of the day.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger map

During my early hill listing I paid little regard to name placement on the map, or the meaning of names and to what feature the name was appropriately applied to.  Therefore I prioritised names for listing purposes that I now understand are either inappropriate or where another name is viewed as being more appropriate.

It was during the compilation of the Yr Uchafion list that I first made place-name enquiries with local farmers, grazers and landowners and this hill was one of the first that I enquired about.  This was so early in my place-name enquiries that I had not at that stage started to document each enquiry that would later be done in a systematic way.  Therefore I have no record of who I spoke to.  However, the person did have association with the land that this hill is situated on and he told me that it is known as Glanfeinion Hill after the landowning farm of Glanfeinion which is situated to the west north-west of its summit.

The Leica 530 gathering data at the summit of Glanfeinion Hill

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

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau is Glanfeinion Hill and this was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Pegwn Mawr

Name:  Glanfeinion Hill

Previously Listed Name:  Waun Lluestowain

OS 1:50,000 map:  136

Summit Height:  534.9m (converted to OSGM15, Leica 530)

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 03338 84670 (Leica 530)

Bwlch Height:  506.5m (converted to OSGM15, Leica 530)

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SO 03043 83053 (Leica 530)

Drop:  28.4m (converted to OSGM15, Leica 530)

For details on the Trimble summit survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (January 2019)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Yr Uchafion and Y Pellennig – The Remotest Hills of Wales

Craig Gwrelyg (SO 055 203)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Yr Uchafion and Y Pellennig - The Remotest Hills of Wales, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill initially ascertained by LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams and later confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey conducted by Myrddyn Phillips which took place on the 30^th June 2018.

LIDAR image of Craig Gwrelyg

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Yr Uchafion – Welsh hills at or above 500m in height that have 15m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the Introduction to the list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 4^th November 2015.

Y Pellennig –The Remotest Hills of Wales - Welsh hills whose summit is at least 2.5km from the nearest paved public road and the hill has a minimum 15m of drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is available as a downloadable e-booklet or print-booklet version on Mapping Mountains Publications with the up-to-date master list available on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

The hill is adjoined to the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) group of hills, which are situated in the South Wales Region (Region C, Sub-Region C2), and it is positioned between the towns of Aberhonddu (Brecon) towards its north and Merthyr Tudful to its south.

The hill first made an appearance in a published hill list in the 1940 edition of the Rucksack Club Journal when Ted Moss listed it as Craig Cwareli in his list entitled The Two-thousands of Wales.  The hill has since been listed by a variety of names including; Craig Pwllfa (subsid), Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion, Bwlch y Ddwyallt and Graig Fan Las.

Hill list authors are prone to list a hill by the name that appears nearest to its summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, without much consideration for its local or historical confirmation, or whether map placement is appropriate, and in the case of this hill the name of Bwlch y Ddwyallt appears close to this hill’s summit on contemporary Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer maps.

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

When this hill was first included in the Yr Uchafion it was listed as Bwlch y Ddwyallt, it was only towards the end of the compilation of this list that place-name enquiries were made with local people including farmers, grazers and landowners.

One of the locals contacted in this area has his family farm to the north of this hill and gave the name of Gurelig Rocks for the cliffs to the immediate north and north-west of this hill’s summit.  This name is an anglicised version of Craig Gwrelyg with the cwm of the same name given on the Ordnance Survey One-Inch ‘Old Series’ map.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey One-Inch 'Old Series' map

The name of the cliffs to the immediate north of this hill’s summit was given this person by his father, and when asked about the name of Cwm Cwareli which appears on contemporary Ordnance Survey maps, he had never heard of it.  He also confirmed that Bwlch y Ddwyallt is the name of the bwlch between this hill and Waun Rydd (SO 062 206) and is not applicable to the hill itself.

The cliffs of Craig Gwrelyg

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Yr Uchafion and Y Pellennig – The Remotest Hills of Wales is Craig Gwrelyg and this was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Bannau Brycheiniog

Name:  Craig Gwrelyg

Previously Listed Name:  Bwlch y Ddwyallt

Summit Height:  753.9m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  160

Summit Grid Reference:  SO 05521 20383

Drop:  18.9m (converted to OSGM15)

Gathering data with the Trimble GeoXH 6000 at the summit of Craig Gwrelyg

For details on the survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (November 2018)

Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau

Grug Crofftau (SN 750 612)

There has been a Significant Name Change to a hill that is listed in the Yr Uchafion and 500m Twmpau, with the summit height, drop and status of the hill being confirmed by a Trimble GeoXH 6000 survey which took place on the 25^th June 2018, with the position of the bwlch having been ascertained from LIDAR analysis conducted by Aled Williams.

The criteria for the two listings that this name change applies to are:

Yr Uchafion – Welsh hills at or above 500m in height that have 15m minimum drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams, with the Introduction to this list appearing on Mapping Mountains on the 4^th November 2015.

500m Twmpau – Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 30m minimum drop, with an accompanying sub category entitled the 500m Sub-Twmpau consisting of all Welsh hills at or above 500m and below 600m in height that have 20m or more and below 30m of drop.  With the word Twmpau being an acronym standing for thirty welsh metre prominences and upward.  The list is authored by Myrddyn Phillips.

The hill is situated in the Elenydd group of hills which are placed in the Mid and West Wales Region (Region B, Sub-Region B2), and it is positioned in relatively remote land for Wales and has the small community of Pontrhydfendigaid towards the north north-west and Tregaron towards the west south-west.

Heading toward the summit of Grug Crofftau (SN 750 612)

When this hill was first included in the listings that later became known as Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau it was listed by the name of Pen Llyn Crugnant, with an accompanying note stating; Named from lake to the East.

During my early hill listing I thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  My preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance, use the name of a near lake and prefix it with the word Pen.  This is not a practice that I now advocate as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historical documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found, and it was only towards the end of the compilation of the Yr Uchafion list that place-name enquiries were made with local farmers, grazers and landowners.

One of the local farmers contacted in this area shepherds the land above Tyncwm (SN 770 655) and gave the name of Grug Crofftau for this hill when a detailed description of its position was given, the farmer in question is local to the area and has worked this land since 1961.  Another local farmer who when contacted was aged 80, having lived at Crofftau (SN 750 644) and shepherding the hills above this farm for 25 years knew the hill as Grug, explaining that it is the highest part of land associated with the farm of Crofftau.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Yr Uchafion and the 500m Twmpau is Grug Crofftau and this was derived from local enquiry.

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Elenydd

Name:  Grug Crofftau

Previously Listed Name:  Pen Llyn Crugnant

Summit Height:  533.3m (converted to OSGM15)

OS 1:50,000 map:  146, 147

Summit Grid Reference:  SN 75031 61257

Drop:  29.0m (converted to OSGM15)

For details on the survey of this hill

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (October 2018)