Bathos

29/30/31-10-12

Oh, to be back in England. However, there was someting in Wales that I need to clear up. Earlier in the year one of the Tamperers had laboured through the nights and days to identify new Humps in Wales. As someone who has made a previous claim to having completed all the Humps in Wales, England and the Isle of Man I was duty bound to do the four new Welsh ones. It made sense, to me anyway, to get them on the way home.

Path to Hascombe hill

This meant that from Dover I set off more westerly than northerly. On the way I passed the sub-Hump Hascombe hill (195m P95).
Hey, there are no paint marks - how am I supposed to know which way to go? And there isn't a cross - where is the summit?

Hascombe hill summit

After an overnight stop on Swansea docks I went to free the first of the Myrddin Welsh Humps Four.
Because I was so used to starting off from huttes I decided to start from the Masons Arms for Mynydd Gelliwastad (213m P100). From there was a good view of Swansea, Port Talbot and the Severn estuary.

Mynydd Gelliwastad summit

Not quite Wilder Kaiser -  the Y Glog range

Then it was northwards for the next one in mid Wales - Y Glog or Draws Drum (574 P106) - which is also a Dewey and hence a bit higher. It is on a ridge(?) that includes some other tops so I made this one into a bigger walk and also bagged the sub-Dewey Y Glog SW top (574m P20) and the Dewey Pen Dihewyd (513m P36).

Pen Dihewyd

Next day I tackled the last two in north Wales. Firstly there was Llechwedd Melyn (196m P100) just inside the Snowdonia National Park, near Tywyn. It is possible to park within 400 metres of the summit, but by time I had wandered around looking for ways through the trees and brambles I managed to walk three kilometres. And enjoyed every moment.

Llechwedd Melyn summit

When I reached the final Welsh Hump (again) it was late afternoon and it had been raining heavily. Luckily the rain sort of stopped whilst I bagged this one. Cefn Yr Ogof (204m P101) is that hill with a castle on you drive by on the A55 near Colwyn Bay. I have often looked at it and wondered whether it was worth exploring.









I parked in a side road in Terfyn and, not sure why, tackled the hill by a direct assault by the edge of an old quarry. There were a few desperate sections but it wasn't too difficult really. This meant I was soon on the top plateau. From there it was a wander through scrubland to the summit trig point. Just beyond the summit there were several large fairy rings of  mushrooms.
I didn't fancy sliding back down the quarry and although I did not have a map with me I was fairly confident that if I kept going I would find an alternative way down and be able to circle round to the start. Somehow, in the dusklight,  I lost the faint path and ended up climbing over barbed wire fences, creeping around ploughed fields, right next to a farmhouse and then came out on the road at Rhyd-y-Foel.
I celebrated with a veggie burger and chips from a chippie in Abergele - where the owner made a special point of cooking the burger in oil that had not been contaminated by fish or meat products.

My last Welsh Hump - ever?