need help locating a trig photo from 1975

[timmeroo]

Hi - have just signed up to this forum, not because I am much of a Trigbagger but because I wanted to find the location of a trig point that was photographed back in 1975 when my late father and step-mother had a holiday there. I believe it is in the Lake District area as previous shots are overlooking Wasdale Head, but the background to this particular trig point is lower lying than that of the Wasdale region (I think). The trig itself looks a recent addition or been given a makeover.
I guess its alright if you have a map ref, but with only a photo to go on, its proving rather difficult to fix a location that is now 45 years old..
I've googled for a photographic ID site but there seems to be nothing definitive, only an assemblage of shots, some are of close up and others without a location ID. Perhaps there is no definitive photographic ID site showing not only the Trigpoint but its cardinal points views (or even a 360).
Wondered if anyone on here can help me out. Hopefully the attached photo will help?

[ted]

Adding a reply to this neglected query so as to draw
attention to it. Whilst I don't recognise the trig,
there are surely others who have logged it. So a few
guesses in the hope of provoking a discussion:

- the vegetation, especially the plantations in the middle
distance, will have changed since the photo was taken.
So by now, the view might be significantly different.

- the ground nearest to the photographer appears to be
made up, possibly a lay-by adjacent to a road or track.

- The landscape doesn't seem characteristic of the
Lake District; the relatively low altitude suggests
the fringe rather than central part of the region

- There appears to be a plaque on the side of the pillar
which is uncommon and might help narrow down the choices.

The trigpointing web site has a search feature which allows
a grid reference and trig type to be specified, generating
a list of nearby trigs.

Hope that is of some slight use; it would be nice to
get a definite ID


Ted

[MAC.HAWK]

I've looked at all the pillars listed on the Lonewalker website as being in the National Park and am fairly confident that this pillar is not one of them if that helps.

[BigJ]

After a lot of deliberation and comparing of various photographs, I would like to tentatively suggest that the location is Beacon Fell, Lancashire. http://trigpointing.uk/trig/1096 The physical look and damage to the pillar seems to fit and, allowing for some tree planting in the last 45 years, the shape of the background hill is very similar. Given the amount of erosion around the pillar in the original photo, it would make sense to assume that some stone armouring might have been put down. Hence the look today. In fact, the shaped stones lying around in the photo could be the very stones that were used. Hoping this helps on the quest.

[paulxtr]

Excellent detective work BigJ.

I agree that the photo is indeed of Beacon Fell (S4701) and was taken looking north towards Hazelhurst Fell. The location of the photo has been bugging me since it was posted and I'm glad you solved the mystery.

Cheers,
Paul

[ted]

Well done to for identifying Beacon Fell!
- far from obvious.

The setts now surrounding the pillar and the scar
of the former plaque are clues but the tree growth
immediately N of the trig hides many of the other
features in the original photo.

[BigJ]

Hi Folks. Many thanks for corroborating the location of the pillar. I was fairly certain I’d solved it but it’s good to have confirmation. As you’ll see from my logs, I rarely venture south of Hadrians Wall so the identity was arrived at by elimination and deduction. Took me about a week. The TV was rubbish, the weather up here in the Arctic Circle was bad and travel was restricted due to lockdown, so I enjoyed the challenge. Cheers. BigJ

[wheresthatpenguin]

Visited Beacon Fell yesterday (30th May 2021). Took a photograph from the exact same position as the 1975 photo uploaded by the original poster, looking out towards Hazelhurst Fell. I think it shows pretty conclusively that the 1975 photo is of Beacon Fell, as the topography lines up exactly. The main changes since 1975 are the wood that has been planted in the intervening years, and the stone base that has been laid around the pillar

[BigJ]

Excellent.

[timmeroo]

I say I say, bizarre as it may seem, due to many distractions at the time, I had quite forgotten I had posted this up and my memory only jogged when going back over these old family phots and suddenly thinking 'but didn't I do something about this on some Trig site some time ago', and thus I scratched and rummaged around the old grey matter and the mems finally came home to roost.
Found my old logins not really expecting any joy and happily proved wrong.
I guess I hadn't clicked the 'notify me' when you all did your posts at the time - my apologies
So rather belatedly, I thank you all whole heartedly for your good efforts and one day I (hopefully) shall travel forthwith from NW Norfolk to retrace my late father and step-mothers footsteps to Beacon Hill.