Welsh Place Names
Have you ever wondered what the Welsh place names around the Brecon Beacons mean? Many of the place names have common beginnings which have a particular meaning.
- Aber
- Means ‘river’ or ‘estuary’ including our very own Aberyscir
- Betws
- An Anglo-Saxon , Old English word for a prayer house. Betws-Y-Coed is probably the best known though it is in the other Welsh Mountain National Park Snowdonia.
- Caer
- Means ‘fort’ or ‘castle’. Caerleon is a town in Newport. It is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hillfort.
- Cwm
- Means ‘valley’ and the Welsh name for Crickhowell is Cwmdu
- LLan
- Denotes a place where there is a church. Llanfihangel Nant Bran is the next valley actually contains 2 examples as the other is ‘Nant’ or steam.
- Nant
- Means ‘stream’. As you can imagine there are quite a few of these around here.
- Pont
- Means ‘bridge’. So our own little ancient bridge is called Pont Y Yscir.
- Rhyd
- A place with a ford.
Some of our place names are quite difficult to pronounce even if you can spell them. Also Aberyscir can be pronounced in 2 slightly different ways.
There is a helpful website where you can listern to the place names being spoken. It is being added to all the time but amazingly Aberyscir is already on there.
Aberyscir Coach House – Brecon Beacons Guide