A Little Town with a Long Name

On the southeastern coast of Anglesey, an island off mainland Wales, sits a little town with a famously long name: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The name roughly translates to "St. Mary's Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St.

Tysilio near the red cave." The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 captured the town on April 9, 2025. The settlement of about 3,000 people was once called Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. In the 1860s a local resident lengthened the name to promote tourism and give the train station Britain’s longest name; residents usually shorten it to Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG.

The "whirlpool" in the name likely refers to the Swellies, a treacherous stretch of the Menai Strait between the Menai Suspension Bridge and Britannia Bridge. Complex bathymetry and tides entering the strait from both ends create strong swirling currents. Menai Suspension Bridge, often described as the first modern suspension bridge, was completed in 1826.

Wales, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

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