News
What's in a name?
Visitors to Wales often struggle with Welsh place names and trying to pronounce them but learning a few words in Welsh can give you a real insight into an area. Often the names given to towns, villages and houses are very descriptive and can give you a real feel for the area you are in.
The names of our cottages at Aran Cottages are more than pretty names, they tell you something about where they are located.
Afonfa means the place of the river. In Welsh, “Afon” means river and “fa” is place. Rhydwen means White Ford – “Rhyd” is a ford and “wen” is white. Before the bridge was built, the way across the river to the village would have been through the ford and possibly across the stepping stones that are still there today.
Having knowledge or words in Welsh such as “Above” and “Below” can also save you from heading in a wrong direction. If you are looking for a place called “Ty Isaf” and you are heading up a steep hill the chances are that you are going the wrong way as “Isaf” means lower.
Conversely “uwch” means higher or above. Our own village is a good example of how descriptive place names can be. Llanuwchllyn – “Llan” means church/parish “Uwch” means above and “Llyn” means lake. So, when trying to find the village, just think of it as the village above the lake. It also helps to break the name up if you ever need to ask the local bus driver where to get off!
Here are some other words that you may see on your travels.
Tŷ – House
Bwthyn– Cottage
Dôl – Meadow
Pont – Bridge
Bryn – Hill
Coed – Wood
