A fortnight in Wales

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The smallest Welsh mountain I know of is Mynydd y Castell (in Margam Park)
Anybody know of a smaller one?

Pass.

Just about everthing in the Rhondda is a 'mynydd' if it goes up. Mynydd
Maindy, Mynydd Eglwys... Is Mynydd y Castell the hill that the house[1]
sits on, or is it another bump, further up the park?

[1] No way is it a castle. No moat, no towers, no dungeons, OK it's
(IIRC) got crenelations, but no battlements, no drawbridge, no
portcullis...
--
To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @
where common sense dictates.

Fran said:

Just about everthing in the Rhondda is a 'mynydd' if it goes up.
Mynydd Maindy, Mynydd Eglwys...

I was going to mention that. What I was going to say was that some of the
Rhondda mynydds aren't summits at all. They may look like from the valley
below, but some of them are just the crests at the end of ridges.

Quoted message said:

Is Mynydd y Castell the hill that
the house[1] sits on, or is it another bump, further up the park?

It's the small hill with the word "fort" written on it, the one that the
arrow is pointing toward.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=280500&Y=186500&A=Y&Z=3

Quoted message said:

[1] No way is it a castle. No moat, no towers, no dungeons, OK it's
(IIRC) got crenelations, but no battlements, no drawbridge, no
portcullis...

Are you referring to the abbey? I presume it's an abbey since that's what
it says on the map.

Mynydd y Castell doesn't refer to the building, it refers to the hill fort
on the hill. It basically means Castle Mountain, or Fort Mountain. I
suppose castle & fort are interchangeable, basically a defensive structure.

Paul

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Fran said:

Just about everthing in the Rhondda is a 'mynydd' if it goes up.
Mynydd Maindy, Mynydd Eglwys...

I was going to mention that. What I was going to say was that some of the
Rhondda mynydds aren't summits at all. They may look like from the valley
below, but some of them are just the crests at the end of ridges.

Quoted message said:

Is Mynydd y Castell the hill that
the house[1] sits on, or is it another bump, further up the park?

It's the small hill with the word "fort" written on it, the one that the
arrow is pointing toward.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=280500&Y=186500&A=Y&Z=3

Quoted message said:

[1] No way is it a castle. No moat, no towers, no dungeons, OK it's
(IIRC) got crenelations, but no battlements, no drawbridge, no
portcullis...

Are you referring to the abbey? I presume it's an abbey since that's what
it says on the map.

No, I was talking about Margam Castle, which is a posh name for the big
house around which sits the park. The Abbey - or rather what's left of
it - is quite a bit lower down, more or less next door to Margam Church
which sits immediately outside the park.

Quoted message said:

Mynydd y Castell doesn't refer to the building, it refers to the hill fort
on the hill. It basically means Castle Mountain, or Fort Mountain. I
suppose castle & fort are interchangeable, basically a defensive structure.

Yes, I knew what the name meant. But given that the house (former home
of the photography chappie) is rather grandly known as 'castle', even
though it's nothing of the sort and isn't even all that old, the lump of
geography it sits on could well have been called Castle Mountain. That
said, looking at the map, and from what little I can remember about that
part of the area, it's possible that the fort isn't actually within the
park but rather just outside it. I need to stroll up there and take a
look next time I get a few hours to myself, don't I :-)

--
To reply see 'from' in headers; lose the domain, and insert dots and @
where common sense dictates.

Dominic Sexton said:

Quoted message said:

But if the name doesn't refer to that, is there anything on Bangor
Mountain marking the "summit"? It wouldn't qualify as a summit
under normal tick list rules.

Thought you might say that.

I knew you would! :-)

Quoted message said:

Yes there is a small bump that is the
summit but it isn't marked by anything spectacular. I seem to
remember a park bench nearby though ;-)

The 117m peak is not part of what was termed Bangor Mountain when I
lived just between BM and the peak - St Mary's Hall of Residence for
those who know the Uni.

Fair enough, but if it's not "really" a summit, can it really qualify as the
smallest mountain in Wales? If we could find a smaller one that would solve
the problem. I wouldn't be surprised if there is.

Paul

In article <[email hidden]>, Fran
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Yes, I knew what the name meant. But given that the house (former home
of the photography chappie) is rather grandly known as 'castle', even
though it's nothing of the sort and isn't even all that old, the lump of
geography it sits on could well have been called Castle Mountain. That
said, looking at the map, and from what little I can remember about that
part of the area, it's possible that the fort isn't actually within the
park but rather just outside it. I need to stroll up there and take a
look next time I get a few hours to myself, don't I :-)

The powers that be can get a bit romantic about names like this. We have
Landore Castle nr Swansea. It never was a castle, fort, fortified
homestead or whatever - it was a lodging house to house Copper works
employees.

The fact that two large walls remain standing has given the romantics a
chance to call it a castle.
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

W. D. Grey said:

The powers that be can get a bit romantic about names like this. We
have Landore Castle nr Swansea. It never was a castle, fort,
fortified homestead or whatever - it was a lodging house to house
Copper works employees.

The fact that two large walls remain standing has given the romantics
a chance to call it a castle.

Are you referring to the "castle" on the hilltop near Llewelyn's Park?

If so, it looks a bit "castly", and it's built in the kind of place that
you'd normally build a castle.

Paul

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Dominic Sexton said:

Quoted message said:

But if the name doesn't refer to that, is there anything on Bangor
Mountain marking the "summit"? It wouldn't qualify as a summit
under normal tick list rules.

Thought you might say that.

I knew you would! :-)

Quoted message said:

Yes there is a small bump that is the
summit but it isn't marked by anything spectacular. I seem to
remember a park bench nearby though ;-)

The 117m peak is not part of what was termed Bangor Mountain when I
lived just between BM and the peak - St Mary's Hall of Residence for
those who know the Uni.

Fair enough, but if it's not "really" a summit, can it really qualify as the
smallest mountain in Wales? If we could find a smaller one that would solve
the problem. I wouldn't be surprised if there is.

Paul

Don't start looking for one Paul or you'll never get out into the fresh
air:-)
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

W. D. Grey said:

The powers that be can get a bit romantic about names like this. We
have Landore Castle nr Swansea. It never was a castle, fort,
fortified homestead or whatever - it was a lodging house to house
Copper works employees.

The fact that two large walls remain standing has given the romantics
a chance to call it a castle.

Are you referring to the "castle" on the hilltop near Llewelyn's Park?

If so, it looks a bit "castly", and it's built in the kind of place that
you'd normally build a castle.

Paul

That's the one - Biult By John Morris after whom "Morriston" was named.

It has looked like it is now for as long as I can remember.
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

W. D. Grey said:

Don't start looking for one Paul or you'll never get out into the
fresh air:-)

Cheek! I've been out all afternoon.

Looking for a steep conical hill rising out of Oxwich Beach below the high
tide mark. Sure enough, there was nothing there, flat as a pancake! So
those free contours were wrong! I could've drowned trying to climb that
imaginary hill... ;-)

Paul

W. D. Grey said:

Quoted message said:

Are you referring to the "castle" on the hilltop near Llewelyn's
Park?

Quoted message said:

That's the one - Biult By John Morris after whom "Morriston" was
named.

Ah, Castle Graig, found the name...

Quoted message said:

It has looked like it is now for as long as I can remember.

Bzzt! No it hasn't!

25th January 1990 - 100+ mph storm. 44 people killed. Much damage including
Castle Graig.

Half of one wall fell down, I got pictures of it the next day. Lots of
other people up there looking at the damage.

Paul

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

W. D. Grey said:

Don't start looking for one Paul or you'll never get out into the
fresh air:-)

Cheek! I've been out all afternoon.

Looking for a steep conical hill rising out of Oxwich Beach below the high
tide mark. Sure enough, there was nothing there, flat as a pancake! So
those free contours were wrong! I could've drowned trying to climb that
imaginary hill... ;-)

Those are the ones to look out for - dangerous exposure :-)

--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

In article <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

W. D. Grey said:

Quoted message said:

Are you referring to the "castle" on the hilltop near Llewelyn's
Park?

Quoted message said:

That's the one - Biult By John Morris after whom "Morriston" was
named.

Ah, Castle Graig, found the name...

Quoted message said:

It has looked like it is now for as long as I can remember.

Bzzt! No it hasn't!

25th January 1990 - 100+ mph storm. 44 people killed. Much damage including
Castle Graig.

Half of one wall fell down, I got pictures of it the next day. Lots of
other people up there looking at the damage.

Paul

My view of it has always been form the valley floor, and I would have
know damage had occurred.

Why they make such a fuss over that particular eyesore and call it a
castle beats me.
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk