Mumbles

---

title: "Mumbles" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["seaside-resorts-in-wales", "populated-places-on-the-gower-peninsula", "swansea-bay", "mumbles"] description: "Headland on Swansea Bay in Wales" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbles" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Headland on Swansea Bay in Wales ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/The_Mumbles_light_house,Glamorganshire(1130083).jpg" caption="Mumbles and lighthouse, mid-1800s"] ::

Mumbles () is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales.

Toponym

Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, after the shape of the two anthropomorphic islands which the headland comprises: the word "Mumbles" may be a corruption of the French les mamelles, meaning "the breasts". Another possible source of the name is the word Mamucium, which is generally thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brythonic name, either from mamm- ("breast", in reference to a "breast-like hill") or from mamma ("mother", in reference to a local river goddess).

Mumbles Lighthouse was built during the 1790s, and was converted to solar powered operation in 1995.

Notable features

Mumbles Pier was opened in 1898 at the terminus of the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, which was the world's first horse-drawn public passenger train service. It opened 2 Mar 1807 and used horse power to 1877, then steam power to 1929, when it switched to double deck overhead electric tram power, lasting till the line closed in Jan 1960.

Mumbles Lifeboat Station has operated since 1866. In 1947, the entire lifeboat crew was lost at sea, attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Samtampa, in what has become known as the Mumbles lifeboat disaster. The nearest church, All Saints' Church, Oystermouth, contains memorials to the crew.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Pier_y_Mwmbwls_a'i_Oleudy.jpg" caption="Panoramic photograph of [[Mumbles Pier]]; the Lifeboat station and the lighthouse on the right"] ::

Climate

|location = Mumbles Head (32m elevation) 1991–2020 |collapsed = |metric first = y |single line = y |Jan high C = 8.3 |Feb high C = 8.3 |Mar high C = 9.8 |Apr high C = 12.4 |May high C = 15.2 |Jun high C = 17.8 |Jul high C = 19.6 |Aug high C = 19.7 |Sep high C = 18.0 |Oct high C = 14.7 |Nov high C = 11.5 |Dec high C = 9.1 |year high C = 13.7 |Jan mean C = 6.3 |Feb mean C = 6.2 |Mar mean C = 7.5 |Apr mean C = 9.6 |May mean C = 12.4 |Jun mean C = 15.0 |Jul mean C = 16.8 |Aug mean C = 16.9 |Sep mean C = 15.3 |Oct mean C = 12.4 |Nov mean C = 9.4 |Dec mean C = 7.1 |year mean C = 11.3 |Jan low C = 4.3 |Feb low C = 4.1 |Mar low C = 5.1 |Apr low C = 6.9 |May low C = 9.5 |Jun low C = 12.2 |Jul low C = 14.1 |Aug low C = 14.2 |Sep low C = 12.7 |Oct low C = 10.1 |Nov low C = 7.3 |Dec low C = 5.1 |year low C = 8.8 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 102.5 |Feb precipitation mm = 73.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 69.9 |Apr precipitation mm = 59.9 |May precipitation mm = 64.5 |Jun precipitation mm = 68.6 |Jul precipitation mm = 73.6 |Aug precipitation mm = 87.7 |Sep precipitation mm = 76.4 |Oct precipitation mm = 112.8 |Nov precipitation mm = 117.9 |Dec precipitation mm = 114.1 |year precipitation mm = 1021.6 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 15.6 |Feb precipitation days = 12.1 |Mar precipitation days = 12.8 |Apr precipitation days = 10.6 |May precipitation days = 10.4 |Jun precipitation days = 10.3 |Jul precipitation days = 10.5 |Aug precipitation days = 12.0 |Sep precipitation days = 11.4 |Oct precipitation days = 14.9 |Nov precipitation days = 16.0 |Dec precipitation days = 15.9 |year precipitation days = 152.5 |source 1 =Met Office{{cite web | url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcjjm7j5g | title=Climate Normals 1991–2020 | publisher=Met Office | access-date=16 April 2025}} | date=16 April 2025

References

References

1. Symons, Mitchell. (8 November 2012). "The Bumper Book For The Loo: Facts and figures, stats and stories – an unputdownable treat of trivia". Transworld.
2. "Mumbles".
3. "The Swansea and Mumbles Railway - the world's first railway service".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::