Rob Woodall
With a keen interest in mapping, GPS and GIS, he tells Peter Naldrett about his quest and about the ways in which he uses geography in his day job to protect people from flooding and pollution
Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars – or trig points – have always featured in my hill walking and, in recent years, have increasingly become a goal in themselves. They were built during the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s to help cartographers develop the maps on which we rely today. The OS built more than 6,500 trig points in Britain, of which almost 6,100 still survive. I looked upon that list as a big challenge. I had climbed all of the mountains in many lists, including the Munros [Scottish mountains with a height of more than 3,000 feet (914 metres)] and Marilyns [British hills of any height with a drop of at least 150 metres on all sides], but this list was much bigger.
All of the trig points in Wales have now been ticked off and there’s only a handful left in England. I still have to visit some more in Scotland before my goal is reached. My favourite trig point location has to be An Teallach in northwest Scotland. It’s an extremely dramatic mountain-top pillar that allows you to enjoy the most amazing 360° views.
You never know what you’ll find at a pillar. I remember heading to the Culnaknock trig on Skye, which anybody could reach because it’s right next to the road. When you get there, you find a totally unexpected and breathtaking view down to a brilliant beach over a remarkable cliff face. It’s a little piece of magic on Skye.
Exploring the countryside is also something of which I’m really fond. There’s a trig point standing about every five kilometres as you move across Britain, and tracking them has allowed me to arrive in places I would otherwise never have seen. I’m also motivated by being the first person to visit each of the trig points.
When I turn on my GPS or unfold my 1:50,000 sheet, I often think about how the trig point network has influenced modern mapping. Some of the triangulation pillars I visit are still used today in the GPS network. They have signals buried deep into them that help to keep the satellite network functioning.
Logging my conquests on the internet is an important part of completing the challenge and finishing the list of trig points. By visiting www.trigpointinguk.com, I can upload my route, thoughts on the visit and photographs that record the event. There are hundreds of people using this site now, as ‘trig-bagging’ is becoming a very popular pastime.
Maps are extremely important for my job as a wastewater network modeller. I’m responsible for solving problems concerning sewage, flooding and pollution, as well as accommodating new developments. We collect data regarding the flow within the sewage network and map where the problems have taken place. It’s then my job to find the reason, which might be that a new housing estate has put too much demand on the system, or it may be that the pipes in the area aren’t big enough. I then have to find solutions, suggest improvements and make sure that the problems can be avoided in the future.
Building new houses, adding extensions and covering gardens with concrete has all added to the amount of run-off in urban areas. This water used to filter into the ground but now finds its way into the sewage network, so it may be that we will have to look at reducing the flow of water. Other approaches include temporary storage in infiltration ponds. As climate change leads to more severe rainfall, we have to predict where floodwater will go, so that damage can be minimised. This involves intensive use of GIS data, including incredibly detailed terrain models that show how water flows over the area.
In a lot of places, the sewage network is out of date, especially where many houses were built in a short space of time after the end of the Second World War. Lots of houses were constructed and connected into existing sewage pipes and it all put a strain on the system. Today, we can apply 21st-century computer modelling to these old pipe networks and find out how best to manage them.
Curriculum vitae
1960 Born in Seisdon, Staffordshire
1970 First triangulation pillar visited on Snowdon
1982 First degree in civil engineering from Aston University, Birmingham
1982–86 Graduate engineer, Kettering Borough Council
1986–88 Assistant engineer, Staffordshire Borough Council
1988–92 Assistant engineer, East Northamptonshire District Council, developing and implementing computer models of flooding and sewage
1992–2000 Development liaison officer, Anglian Water
2000–present Wastewater network modeller, Anglian Water, using GIS
to solve problems relating to flooding and pollution1960: Born in Seisdon, Staffordshire
1970 First triangulation pillar visited on Snowdon
1982 First degree in civil engineering from Aston University, Birmingham
1982–86 Graduate engineer, Kettering Borough Council
1986–88 Assistant engineer, Staffordshire Borough Council
1988–92 Assistant engineer, East Northamptonshire District Council, developing and implementing computer models of flooding and sewage
1992–2000 Development liaison officer, Anglian Water
2000–present Wastewater network modeller, Anglian Water, using GIS
to solve problems relating to flooding and pollution
March 2009
Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars – or trig points – have always featured in my hill walking and, in recent years, have increasingly become a goal in themselves. They were built during the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s to help cartographers develop the maps on which we rely today. The OS built more than 6,500 trig points in Britain, of which almost 6,100 still survive. I looked upon that list as a big challenge. I had climbed all of the mountains in many lists, including the Munros [Scottish mountains with a height of more than 3,000 feet (914 metres)] and Marilyns [British hills of any height with a drop of at least 150 metres on all sides], but this list was much bigger.
All of the trig points in Wales have now been ticked off and there’s only a handful left in England. I still have to visit some more in Scotland before my goal is reached. My favourite trig point location has to be An Teallach in northwest Scotland. It’s an extremely dramatic mountain-top pillar that allows you to enjoy the most amazing 360° views.
You never know what you’ll find at a pillar. I remember heading to the Culnaknock trig on Skye, which anybody could reach because it’s right next to the road. When you get there, you find a totally unexpected and breathtaking view down to a brilliant beach over a remarkable cliff face. It’s a little piece of magic on Skye.
Exploring the countryside is also something of which I’m really fond. There’s a trig point standing about every five kilometres as you move across Britain, and tracking them has allowed me to arrive in places I would otherwise never have seen. I’m also motivated by being the first person to visit each of the trig points.
When I turn on my GPS or unfold my 1:50,000 sheet, I often think about how the trig point network has influenced modern mapping. Some of the triangulation pillars I visit are still used today in the GPS network. They have signals buried deep into them that help to keep the satellite network functioning.
Logging my conquests on the internet is an important part of completing the challenge and finishing the list of trig points. By visiting www.trigpointinguk.com, I can upload my route, thoughts on the visit and photographs that record the event. There are hundreds of people using this site now, as ‘trig-bagging’ is becoming a very popular pastime.
Maps are extremely important for my job as a wastewater network modeller. I’m responsible for solving problems concerning sewage, flooding and pollution, as well as accommodating new developments. We collect data regarding the flow within the sewage network and map where the problems have taken place. It’s then my job to find the reason, which might be that a new housing estate has put too much demand on the system, or it may be that the pipes in the area aren’t big enough. I then have to find solutions, suggest improvements and make sure that the problems can be avoided in the future.
Building new houses, adding extensions and covering gardens with concrete has all added to the amount of run-off in urban areas. This water used to filter into the ground but now finds its way into the sewage network, so it may be that we will have to look at reducing the flow of water. Other approaches include temporary storage in infiltration ponds. As climate change leads to more severe rainfall, we have to predict where floodwater will go, so that damage can be minimised. This involves intensive use of GIS data, including incredibly detailed terrain models that show how water flows over the area.
In a lot of places, the sewage network is out of date, especially where many houses were built in a short space of time after the end of the Second World War. Lots of houses were constructed and connected into existing sewage pipes and it all put a strain on the system. Today, we can apply 21st-century computer modelling to these old pipe networks and find out how best to manage them.
Curriculum vitae
1960 Born in Seisdon, Staffordshire
1970 First triangulation pillar visited on Snowdon
1982 First degree in civil engineering from Aston University, Birmingham
1982–86 Graduate engineer, Kettering Borough Council
1986–88 Assistant engineer, Staffordshire Borough Council
1988–92 Assistant engineer, East Northamptonshire District Council, developing and implementing computer models of flooding and sewage
1992–2000 Development liaison officer, Anglian Water
2000–present Wastewater network modeller, Anglian Water, using GIS
to solve problems relating to flooding and pollution1960: Born in Seisdon, Staffordshire
1970 First triangulation pillar visited on Snowdon
1982 First degree in civil engineering from Aston University, Birmingham
1982–86 Graduate engineer, Kettering Borough Council
1986–88 Assistant engineer, Staffordshire Borough Council
1988–92 Assistant engineer, East Northamptonshire District Council, developing and implementing computer models of flooding and sewage
1992–2000 Development liaison officer, Anglian Water
2000–present Wastewater network modeller, Anglian Water, using GIS
to solve problems relating to flooding and pollution
March 2009
