In a real life spin on the Hugh Grant film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain, mountain walking enthusiast Myrddyn Phillips, of Welshpool, and the team have succeeded in getting Mynydd Graig Goch upgraded to "mountain" status.

Working with John Barnard, of Mold, and Graham Jackson, of Chester, he discovered that current maps undervalue Mynydd Graig Goch at 1,998 feet (609 metres) just short of the 2,000 feet needed for it to qualify as a mountain.

But their own survey proved it actually stands a full six inches over 2,000 foot and should be reclassified as a mountain,
Ordnance Survey has already agreed to amend its maps on the internet and will also be updating the printed maps.

"Nothing like this has happened before. We're very pleased our survey has proved Mynydd Graig Goch is a mountain and not a hill," said Mr Phillips.

The team had to endure rain and winds of up to 50mph taking 7,000 readings for the survey during August, but Mr Phillips said it had been worth it. They included using satellite positioning to gauge the height of the hills in Snowdonia.

Walking the Munros mountains in Scotland that are more than 3,000ft has long been popular and as mountain-walking grows in popularity it has become a challenge to complete all the mountains of England and Wales of 2,000ft and over.

"This may appear at first sight to be a less ambitious target, but there are more of them and they represent a challenge to even the fittest athletes.

"It had been many years since the discovery of a new 2,000ft mountain, which is hardly surprising considering that the country has been accurately mapped by the Ordnance Survey."

Mr Phillips and his team set about their own survey of summits in Snowdonia they expected might qualify including Mynydd Graig Goch, which is at the western end of the Nantlle ridge above the village of Nebo, south of Caernarfon.

"We required a method of determining height to a level of accuracy of but a few centimetres.

"A consultancy with James Whitworth at Leica Geosystems confirmed that the company's SmartRover 1200 GPS system was the equipment of choice and would give us results well within our desired specification.
"A date was then agreed with Leica for the use of the equipment and the expertise to operate it."