Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 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 an English-speaking country. Apart from its name it is similar to other nearby villages.

Understand

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (llan-vire-pooll-guin-gill-go-ger-u-queern-drob-ooll-llandus-ilio-gogo-goch) (usually known as Llanfair-pwll or Llanfairpwllgwyngyll) is a Welsh word which 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".

St Mary's Church, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

The name was coined as a publicity gimmick in the 1860s by concatenating 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. It was the longest place name in an English-speaking country, but has been challenged by Llanfynydd (which unofficially changed its name to something longer) and a train stop elsewhere in Wales, but neither of these has received official recognition.

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 and the lower village has newer commercial buildings and the train station.

Get in

By train

🌍 Llanfairpwll railway station is a request stop on the main line between Holyhead and Bangor.

By car

It is also reachable by car via the Menai Suspension Bridge.

Get around

Walking is recommended.

See

• 🌍 Rail Station platform sign. The main attraction in town is easy to find: it's the town's name spelled out on a long sign at the train station. The name is also used on several nearby signs within town, although Llanfairpwllgwyngyll is used on some signs there and on road signs leading to it. 
• 🌍 St Mary's Church. Visit the town's eponymous church.  
• 🌍 The Marquess of Anglesey's Column, Parc Twr, LL61 5NJ. Before 2014, the monument could be climbed, giving a good view of Menai Strait. Due to health and safety reasons, it is no longer accessible. The monument is best viewed from afar, for example from the Menai Suspension bridge  
• 🌍 Plas Newydd Country House and Gardens, Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, LL61 6DQ, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 12:00 - 16:30. National Trust owned. Home of the Marquess of Anglesey that was built in the 18th century.  

Do

• 🌍 Anglesey Sea Zoo and Marine Resource Centre, Brynsiencyn, LL61 6TQ, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Open early February through early November. Wales' largest marine aquarium, re-creating the habitats of the fauna and flora found around Anglesey and the North Wales coastline, educational as well as entertaining. Adult £5.95, senior £5,50, child/student £4.95.  
• 🌍 Anglesey Walking Holidays, 3 Penrallt, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5LP, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Tailor made walking and cycling holidays on the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path, Snowdonia, Wales Coast Path (North Section) and Offa's Dyke - packages include accommodation, luggage transfers, maps, routes. 

Buy

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

Eat

• The Marquis Restaurant, Holyhead Road, ☎ [phone]. 
• The Penrhos Arms, Holyhead Road. 

Drink

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

Sleep

• 🌍 Plas Coch Holiday Park, Llanedwen, Anglesey, LL61 6EJ, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Awarded 5* by the Wales Tourist Board, it is set in over 60 acres of parkland near the Menai Straits. 

Hotel

• 🌍 Gwesty Carreg Bran Hotel, Church Lane, LL61 5YH, ☎ [phone]. 

B&B

• Carreg Goch, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 The Outbuildings, Bodowyr Farm, Llangaffo, Anglesey LL60 6NH, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Restaurant with rooms. Five luxurious en-suite bedrooms, restaurant and events venue with wedding licence. £90. 

Go next

The other villages of Anglesey – Holyhead, Beaumaris, Menai Bridge, Llangefni, Ynys Llanddwyn – offer similar small-town Welsh character and remote seaside landscapes, including both lovely beaches and rugged cliffs. Beaumaris and Menai Bridge, where a bridge meets the mainland, are particularly close.

Routes through Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

Follows to Holyhead ←	W  E	→ Menai Bridge → Bangor
Holyhead ← Llangefni ←	W  E	→ Bangor → Llandudno