Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, a small town in northern Wales, is a quiet, friendly place that boasts what is (arguably) the longest name of any town in the world. It took me a lot of practice to learn to pronounce the name, which means “Saint Mary’s Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of Saint Tysilio of the Red Cave”, and is sometimes abbreviated to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll or Llanfair PG (58 letters can be a bit much). Welsh- which is one of the oldest languages in Europe if not the oldest- is alive and well here, and can be both heard and seen everywhere.

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This sign was about 40 feet long.

The Welsh dragon on the side of a tavern.

Plenty of old buildings are still in use, like this one.

The actual “Llanfair”, or Saint Mary’s Church, from which the town gets its name.

An old gravestone written in Welsh.

Sailing in the Swellies.

Two local cyclists at the town’s welcome sign.

Street sign written in Welsh.

Another sign written in Welsh

Llanfairpwll Bowling Club

This is what I saw when I got off at the train station.

Here is my attempt at pronouncing it…