Welsh mountain downgraded to hill after experts say it is 23mm too short

A mountain has been officially downgraded to a hill after missing out on the title by 23 millimetres. Surveyors ruled that Moelwyn Mawr in the Snowdonia range is no longer a mountain after it failed to measure up to the guidelines set out for summits.

A survey team comprised of John Barnard, Graham Jackson and Myrddyn Phillips followed the criteria set out in the definitive guide The Mountains of England & Wales and used the latest GPS technology to measure the mountain. However, under the guidelines, a peak needs to be 2,000ft high and have a 15m height difference between the summit and the land that connects it to the next higher hill.



Moelwyn Mawr was 23 millimetres short of the 15m height difference needed to be officially called a mountain. Mr Barnard said: "The science worked on this one and we have been quite successful. We haven't had one as close as this. But we now have four sets of data - the most data we've had on any hill. The locals are not going to be pleased with us. This wasn't my idea!" He said the testing process was tricky thanks to the Welsh weather.

Mr Jackson said: "When up high in cold and windy weather, doing high staff measurements you have to wait to catch your moment to get a decent reading, those are the difficulties involved. As soon as you step up from sheltered areas you get gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour. We needed three matching results with three different sets of modern equipment to be definitive, as measuring this marginal nuttall." The downgrading of Moelwyn Mawr means that Wales now only has 189 official mountains, instead of the previous 190.