Mumbles
 |
Mumbles village, Wales |
Mumbles (otherwise
The Mumbles –
Welsh Y Mwmbwls) is an extremely large village and adjacent headland stretching into
Swansea Bay. It is also a
community made up of the
Mayals,
Newton,
Oystermouth and
West Cross Electoral Wards. It is part of the administrative area of the city and county of
Swansea in south
Wales. Historically the area was part of the
county of
Glamorgan.
The name Mumbles is probably derived from the French word
mamelles, meaning "breasts", which the two islets at the end of the Mumbles headland resemble. On the furthest islet stands
Mumbles Lighthouse. Situated in the village are the ruins of
Oystermouth Castle.
In
1806, the
Oystermouth Railway was built between Oystermouth and Swansea with the intention of carrying coal to Swansea. The potential for carrying passengers was soon seen and a
horse-drawn passenger service was started on
March 25,
1807, making it the first passenger railway service in the world. It became enormously popular, and was commonly called the Mumbles Train.
Following the development of the rail service, Mumbles became a very popular
tourist destination. To capitalize on this, the Mumbles Train was extended and a
pier was constructed and opened in
1898 to serve as the new terminus.
An
RNLI lifeboat slipway was added to the pier in the summer of 1916 and a boathouse was finally built on it in
1922; these remain in use. On
April 23,
1947 the crew of eight men was lost while attempting to rescue the crew of the
Samtampa that had run aground on
Tusker Rock.
An amusement complex was developed at the land end of the pier in 1966. This proved to be an invaluable attraction to visitors, and in recent years, funding has seen a new building added, housing an amusement arcade, restaurant and
bowling alley.
The
Mumbles Mile is a stretch of road in Mumbles, that was notable for its concentration of
pubs. It was once a popular destination for students from
universities in
Swansea and
Cardiff for
pub crawls. In recent years pubs have begun to close, being replaced by upmarket restaurants and blocks of flats. Famous poet
Dylan Thomas was said to have enjoyed many hours at The Mermaid (now demolished).
*
Catherine Zeta-Jones was born in
Swansea but she was brought up in Mumbles
*
Ian Hislop was born in Mumbles
*
Joanna Page was born in Mumbles
*
Bonnie Tyler lives in Mumbles
*Mumbles is also the name of a Restaurant in lower Manhattan
*
Gower Peninsula*
Mumbles RFC*
Mumbles community council*
Mumbles Tourist Information Centre*
Report of the loss of Edward, Prince of Wales (the Mumbles lifeboat) in 1947*
Locality website*
Mumbles Pier*
Mumbles webcam*
Mumbles Lifeboat*
Mumbles Yacht Club
