Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Despite what some might think, the title of this post was not created by me randomly wandering around my keyboard. It’s actually a real place in Britain.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a large village on the island of Anglesey in Northwest Wales. At 58 letters long, it boasts the longest single-word place name in Europe and the second longest in the World.

People have lived in the area since Neolithic times (4000 to 2000 BC). Yet the village’s mammoth moniker didn’t actually until the mid 19^th Century. Until then it was simply (!) called Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, which was already enough of a mouthful for most non-Welsh speakers.

Following the arrival of the railway in the 1850s, a committee was formed to try and get more people to stop and visit the village on the way past; like an early Tourism Bureau. One bright spark came up with the idea of changing the village’s name to make it stand out more. And Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch was born.

One from the Vault: Me and Sue on the platform of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch station back in in 2002

Over 150 years later, the plan continues to draw tourists, although the name has proven a bit cumbersome for daily use. Unsurprisingly, a number of short forms have developed over the years, including Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Llanfairpwll and even Llanfair P.G.

Believe it or not, Rich can actually pronounce the full version, more-or-less. Although he does have the advantage of being born in Wales, even if he only knows a handful of Welsh words. I have to admit, it’s all Greek to me!

But if you want to know how to say it, try visiting the village’s website.

Oh! And in case you’re wondering, the translation of full name goes something like this: Saint Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave. Phew!

This post was inspired by Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, which this week is Numbers and Letters, and Traces of the Past from Paula (Lost in Translation).

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