"Up the Mountain"

Between Tredegar and Ebbw Vale

Up the Junction was a famous film of the 1960s.  But a similar phrase, seldom heard in the flat lands of the UK, is common-place in the South Wales Valleys.  Up the Mountain, has come to mean much more than it would appear on face-value.  Roy Noble draws attention to this well-used phrase in his book Noble Ways: Lay-bys in my Life, when he relates an episode with his uncle.


New Tredegar

As children (long before current news stories,) we'd play up the mountain. Some would be gone all day with a bottle of water and a couple of jam sandwiches. After rolling down through the ferns, building dens, playing cowboys or Kings & Queens, crubby, sleepy children would return home ready for bed.  Life, these days, has unfortunately a few more restrictions.

Teenagers often arranged to meet up the mountain.  Perhaps for the odd under-age tipple, or to meet a young man disapproved of by the family.  Up the mountain they would be out of sight of prying eyes and have a little privacy.


View from Aneurin Bevan Monument above Tredegar

Families on school holidays still go up the mountain. With a picnic and walking gear they can adventure all day.  It gives Dad a chance to relatee tales of what he got up to as a kid.

Often, for someone who has lived in the same place all their lives, their last wish is to have their ashes scattered up the mountain.  Bouquets of dead flowers and brightly coloured ribbons often denote their last resting place amongst the coarse mountain turf, or in a cleft between two large rocks.


New Tredegar

But the phrase up the mountain can put fear and dread into the family of someone feeling a little depressed and not in the best of mental health.  "I'm going up the mountain!"  Should the family prevent them going, or perhaps wait for their loved-one's return or inevitably send out search parties?  After a stroll and time to think amongst familiar, quiet surroundings, most fortunately return to the fold unharmed, just adding a few grey hairs to the heads of their relatives.

Guardian, Six Bells village and mountain

The experience of visitors to the area can be enhanced by a trip up the mountain.  There are plenty to choose from and in the valleys they are all close to villages, cafes and shops.  But conditions can be changeable so care and safety precautions should be taken:  sensible footwear, a clear idea of where you are going, tell someone where you are going if you plan a lengthy walk. 


Atmospheric, but can be dangerous if unfamiliar

Remember maps on digital equipment can be very useful, but batteries can run out. Better to have a paper back-up in the bag, just in case, along with a drink and warm clothes.

Gelligaer Common, view lost in the mist