The Meaning of Bwbach Explained
Have you ever heard of Bwbach? Do you know what it means?
It’s a big part of life here at Bluestone during autumn - and its name is steeped in history.
Everything You Need to Know
A Wonderful Welsh Legend
As with many words in Welsh, there's no direct translation of "Bwbach", but roughly it means "little scare" in English and has been part of Welsh folklore for hundreds of years. In true Welsh style though, the Bwbach are not particularly scary, in fact, they’re quite friendly (well they are at least at Bluestone).
That’s why you might spot more than a few scarecrows dotted around the resort before autumn comes to an end. Make sure you get your picture taken with them - and lookout for a few cheeky ones appearing early towards the end of summer.
How do you pronounce Bwbach?
If you're not a Welsh speaker, trying to pronounce "bwbach" might be a bit of a head-scratcher but don't worry it's not as hard as you think. The "w" is replaced by "oo" so the first half of the word sounds like "boo".
For the second half, the "ch" isn't like the start of "cheese" and instead is a hard sound, similar to "bach", and is pronounced like the German composer Johann Bach.
Put together and it's "boo-bach".
Not as hard as you thought, right?
History of the Bwbach
According to Welsh folklore, the Bwbach are mischievous but friendly hobgoblins. Legend has it that the Bwbach used to live with families in Wales and do good turns and chores around the home in return for a bowl of cream.
The home's occupants would leave out a bowl of cream before bed and come down to find the cream all gone - but a host of household tasks completed. This type of Bwbach also had a reputation for not being too fond of clergymen and those who didn’t like to drink ale - often playing pranks on them.
We don’t tend to find this type of Bwbach visiting Bluestone. The stories tell of them generally being found in Ceredigion and Glamorgan. In Pembrokeshire we just get the friendly scarecrow kind!
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