Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Llanfair PG for short) is a small, quiet town on the island of Anglesey off the northwest coast of North Wales, famous for having the longest place name in Europe. Apart from its name, it is similar to other nearby villages.

Understand
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (llan-vire-pooll-gwin-gill-gore-ger-ih-queern-drorb-ooll-llandy-silio-gore-gore-goch), usually shortened to Llanfair-pwll or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, is a Welsh word that translates roughly as "St Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the Red Cave". The name was coined as a publicity gimmick in the 1860s by linking the names of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll ("St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel"), the nearby hamlet of Llantysilio Gogogoch ("the church of St Tysilio of the red cave"), and the chwyrn drobwll ("rapid whirlpool") between them.

Locals refer to the village as Llanfair, or as Llanfair PG (pronounced roughly "Hlan-var Pee Gee"), to distinguish it from other places in Wales called "Llanfair(something)". Although typed as 58 characters, it is only 50 letters, because in Welsh ll ng and ch are treated as single letters.

The village is divided into two sections. The upper village has mostly older residences, while the lower village has newer commercial buildings and the train station.

By train
is a request stop on the main line between Holyhead, where ferries from Ireland berth, and Bangor, just across the Menai Strait on the Welsh mainland.

By car
The main route is the A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, which skirts the town. This is the main route from the Welsh mainland across the Britannia Bridge in one direction and from Holyhead in the other. A secondary route is the A5 from Bangor, which crosses the Menai Suspension Bridge to the town of Menai Bridge and thence to Llanfair.

Get around
Walking is recommended.

Buy
There are many hand craft shops in Llanfairpwll, including Pringles (near the train station). Loads of hand crafted goods.

Drink

 * The Penrhos Arms is a pub opposite the train station.

Go next
The other villages of Anglesey offer similar small-town Welsh character and remote seaside landscapes, including lovely beaches and rugged cliffs.
 * Beaumaris – 7 miles to the north-east
 * Brynsiencyn – 5 miles to the south-west, has the Anglesey Sea Zoo, Wales' largest marine aquarium
 * Llangefni – 12 miles away towards the centre of Anglesey
 * Menai Bridge – a town less than 2 miles away, where a bridge crosses to the mainland