Llanfair PG: the small Welsh village with the extra-large name
LLANFAIR PG is the everyday, saner nickname for the Anglesey village whose full Victorian party piece is:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Locals usually say Llanfairpwll or simply Llanfair PG; the railway prefers Llanfairpwll; road signs split the difference. All three refer to the same place: a friendly community just over the Britannia Bridge from Bangor on the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), on the Menai Strait.
Where it is (and why people keep stopping there)
For most visitors, Llanfair PG is where you hop off the North Wales Coast Line to take a grinning selfie beneath the famous station fascia that runs the full length of the platform shelter. The stop opened in 1848 and still serves the village today (station code: LPG). The long sign is a tourist magnet; the official station name, however, is the shorter Llanfairpwll.
How on earth do you say it?
If you’re feeling brave, try: llan-vire-pooll-gwin-gill-go-GER-uh-khwern-DROB-ooll-llan-tuh-SIL-yo-go-go-GOCH (the final ch is a throaty sound, like in German Bach). For a masterclass, watch Channel 4 weatherman Liam Dutton nail it live on TV – a clip that went viral.
What the name means (roughly)
Welsh place-names are often gloriously literal. The extra-long form stacks descriptive bits into a single mega-label that boils down to:
“St Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and St Tysilio’s Church of the red cave.”
If you’re wondering: the rapid whirlpool nods to the Swellies, a treacherous stretch of the Menai Strait; St Tysilio’s church sits on nearby Church Island. (Scholars quibble over a word or two, but that’s the gist.)
Why it’s so long (spoiler: a 19th-Century PR stunt)
The medieval parish was sensibly known as Llanfair y Pwllgwyngyll and later Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. In the railway age, local boosters – popular lore says a tailor/cobbler – stitched on extra elements to give the station “the longest name” and lure curious travellers. It worked a treat, and it still does.
Historians point out that variants of a longer form were already floating around in the 1800s, but the all-conquering 58-character version became the marketing winner and the one splashed across the station sign.
A (very) short history of a long-named place
People have lived in the area since the Neolithic period; it later sat within the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and remained a quiet agricultural parish until the modern crossings transformed Anglesey’s links. Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge (1826) and the Britannia Bridge (1850) put Llanfair PG on the through-route to Holyhead and Ireland; the railway brought the day-trippers – and the cameras.
Records, rivals, and other pub-quiz ammo
UK & Europe: Llanfair PG lays a strong claim to the longest place name in the UK and Europe (58 characters, counting Welsh digraphs as single letters if you’re a purist).
World stage: For raw length, a hill in New Zealand—Taumatawhakatangihangakoauau… (you get the idea) – goes longer.
Railway trivia: Despite the sign, the official longest UK station name is actually Rhoose Cardiff International Airport; Llanfair PG’s long form is a Victorian flourish.
Pop culture: In 2025, game studio Arrowhead slipped a tongue-in-cheek “Llanfair… II” city into Helldivers 2.
Visiting today: What to do besides the sign – collect the photo at the station (you earned it). Then browse local shops (yes, souvenirs with the full name do exist).
Explore nearby: Plas Newydd House & Garden (National Trust) is a short hop, and the bridges and Menai Strait scenery are on your doorstep. (Regional guides list plenty more on Anglesey if you’re touring.)
Practicalities: Trains on the North Wales Coast Line call at Llanfairpwll; check current times via Transport for Wales or National Rail.
What to call it: “Llanfair PG” or “Llanfairpwll” will make you sound like you’ve done this before. The marathon version is for photos, T-shirts, and heroic attempts after your second coffee.
Language note: Welsh is very much alive on Anglesey. A simple “Diolch!” (Thank you) and a go at the name earn smiles – extra points if you nail that final -goch (see that Liam Dutton clip again).
Welsh 101: Letters to Watch For
ll = breathy “thl” sound, not “L-L”.
ch = throaty, like the German Bach.
w = often sounds like “oo” (pwll = “pool”).
In conclusion, Llanfair PG is many things: a real village with real people; a neat base for Menai Strait exploring; and – let’s be honest – a world-class icebreaker. The 19th-Century marketers would be delighted: 150+ years on, the name still does exactly what it was designed to do – make you stop, smile, and tell someone else about that place in Wales.