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Wish You Were Here: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrn- drobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales

July 19, 2011 at 1:14 PM | by | Comments (0)

Fifty-eight letters and one tiny train station. Welcome to the Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which sits in the northwestern most corner of Wales on the Isle of Anglesey. Llanfairpwllgwyngyll—the short form, or Llanfair PG to be even shorter—holds the title of longest town name in the world. It would be first for longest general place as well, if it weren't for a New Zealand hill annoyingly sporting 85 letters: "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu."

In the town name of Llanfair PG, there are only 13 vowels, plus the impressive totals of 11 Ls and 7 Gs. As you can imagine, the town rides on tourism based solely on this claim to fame, and when we dropped by earlier today, the single parking lot at the train station was half-filled with tour buses and half with rental cars (our own included).

Gallery: The Longest Town Name in the World

At first glance, it's a complete and utter tourist trap, but if you give in a bit and soak up the quirk of the place, it's pretty much the best 45-minute detour ever. The souvenirs are the sort that delight: Mountains of shortbread! Inflatable dragons mimicking the Welsh flag! Yummy jars of lime curd! Six-inch long fridge magnets emblazoned with the town's name! And of course postcards ready to receive the extra-long postmark when you send them with a smile.

The best part of Llanfair PG? Probably that it's so easy to visit. You don't even have to stop there to get a coveted picture of the sign; the Virgin Trains running from London to Holyhead go by at a picture-taking-friendly pace and if you're driving, it's one of the first town you hit after crossing the Britannia Bridge onto the Isle of Anglesey.

The pronunciation isn't easy (Llan-vire-pooll-guin-gill-go-ger-u-queern-drob-ooll-llandus-ilio-gogo-goch) and the meaning just as odd (St Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio of the Red Cave) and the town's official website may qualify for longest base URL (llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch.info/), but my god is it the cutest tiny diversion.

[Photos: Cynthia Drescher for Jaunted]

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