This seemingly unpronounceable village lies on the edge of the Black Mountains (not to be confused with the Black Mountain) in Wales.

The word itself was designed by 15th Century Welsh linguists so they could laugh at the feeble attempts of English invaders at pronouncing the word. To pronounce it, practice a sort of phlegm-inducing 'cchhchchchhh' sound at the back of your mouth. Then say 'Buwl-chch', sneezing as you finish. That's more or less it. If you cover the listener with spittle, you probably have the pronunciation right.

Incidentally, 'Bwlch' means 'pass', and surprisingly enough Bwlch is located in two halves, either side of a pass. Bwlch possesses a surprising number of pubs for its population size, four or five in total. That's the number of pubs, not the population.

Although small, they are very nice, and a good way of meeting the locals. The Farmer's Arms is a typical Welsh pub, full of farmers brawling about rugby, Young Farmer's rugby, and local rugby teams.

Bwlch imports tourists, pensioners and farmers; and exports phlegm and Women's Institute choir singers.

A fascinating hamlet near to Bwlch is Cathedine. Now please wipe your nose.