Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Railway Station

Visually evocative of a toddler having a go with your computer, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the longest town name in Europe. Contained within it is the village coordinates, delivered so lyrically as to be entirely useless, navigationally speaking. Its rough translation is: “Saint Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazels over against the fierce whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio of the red cave.” Enjoy putting that into your GPS.

The town was originally called Llanfairpwllgwyngyll—already a sufficient mouthful. But in a clever (and successful) stunt to attract tourists by bearing the longest heading of any railway station in Britain, a Victorian tailor had the idea to add fabric to the name, bringing its total length to fifty-eight letters (a mere fifty-one in Welsh, as ll and ch are considered single letters).

Both the station and its name have survived, and serve the town (more commonly referred to by its nickname of Llanfairpwll) very well. The biggest attraction is the railway station; the most popular tourist activity is marveling at the sign proudly bearing its full name. It is delightfully photogenic—provided that your phone has a panoramic setting, and especially if you arrive in the concise comparison of
a Mini.

Publicity ploys to bring attention to the station have continued since its name was established, and include a campaign proposing that properly pronouncing it cures lockjaw. In the digital era, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk earned a listing in the Guinness World Records book as the internet’s longest domain name—though the ambition for heavy traffic would most certainly be cobbled by searchers’ attempts at spelling it.

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