Friday 29 April 2011

Hill no 9 - 99 The Bwlch, Bridgend

The Bwlch presented me with two problems.

1) How to pronounce it. I have been struggling through Wales with the names of places - having a Welsh roommate at work has obviously not prepared me for a week here. I even had the embarrassment of going into a pub and ordering a pint of C.W.R.W (see double you are double you) and being corrected with the right pronunciation (Cuh Roux apparently!)

2) Where to start (and where to end). Another candidate for those little signs.

Thankfully (as I was getting tired) the hill was a mere (ha!) 5/10. Unfortunately it was nearly 6 km long. There was a cattle grid on route though, so that was ok.

This is proper Valleys country - little towns surrounded by huge hills and beautiful vistas.
And yes - I am aware that these photos are so much better than the ones I take. That's because Em took them!

Garmin data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/81723377 - Simon says 21 minutes climbing time. I did it in about 21. Beautiful views down the valley.

2 comments:

  1. This was the hill that broke me on this year's Dragon.
    It's pronounced "Bulk" by the way.

    I went back later just to prove to myself I could get to the top.

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  2. Thanks for the pronunciation tip. You should have seen me make a fool of myself ordering a pint of "cwrw"! My room-mate at work is a native welsh speaker too...

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