Map of the Island. The Air Fore Base is located north of Rhosneigr (left of the middle at the map), Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll is located where the A55 enters the island (left of Menai Bridge).
Prince William and Kate Middleton live on the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn in Welsh). It is situated off the northwest coast of Wales near the Snowdonia mountain range. It is separated from the mainland by the Menai Strait, which is spanned by two picturesque bridges. William rents a cottage on the southwest side of Anglesey near the Royal Air Force base, where he works as a search and rescue helicopter pilot.
Area: 714 km² (276 sq mi)
Population: 69.000
The Isle of Anglesey (northwestern Wales)
In the 1860s, in a (succesful) attempt to attract tourists, one of its villages, 'Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll' was renamed 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch', still the longest place name in Europe.
Llanfair = St Mary’s Church
pwll = in the hollow
gwyngyll = of the white hazel
goger = near
y chwyrndrobwll = the rapid whirlpool
llantysilio = and the church of St Tysilio
g ogo goch = by the red cave
The longest place name in the World is the official name of Bangkok ('Krung-dēvamahānagara amararatanakosindra mahindrāyudhyā mahātilakabhava navaratanarājadhānī purīramya uttamarājanivēsana mahāsthāna amaravimāna avatārasthitya shakrasdattiya vishnukarmaprasiddhi' meaning ‘The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma’).
The longest Dutch place name is Gasselterboerveenschemond, a hamlet in the northern province of Drenthe. The longest US place name may be Lake Chargoggaggoggmancogmanhoggagogg in Massachusetts, althoug the alternative names of Santa Fe (La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis) and LA (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula) also impress.
next episode: very strange royal wedding photograph
Well, Rob, thanks for another wonderful geography lesson! I'm loving these posts. Have you ever been to Gasselterboerveenschemond?
ReplyDeleteNo, I must admit I have never been to Gasselterboerveenschemond. It's not located close-by; from where I live the Belgium and German border are closer...
ReplyDeleteJust curious. I did notice you're less than a two hour drive from Gescher, Germany, where my Maas ancestors were from. By the way, I like all the redesign you've done to your blog!
ReplyDeleteGescher, I had never heard of it I must admit. I've been to Münster last year, but that was a bit of a disappointment. I'll take a look
ReplyDeletewhen I got the opportunity to be in its vicinity.