John Cletheroe's
UK and European Travel and Tourism Hints

Pronunciation Of Some British Place Names

Since I was born and live in Britain, this pronunciation guide was written from the point of view of a British English speaker. Please bear this in mind if you come from a different English-speaking country, or if English is not your first language.

Most people from outside Wales struggle with many Welsh place names such as Betws-y-Coed, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Llanfairynghornwy, Penmynydd and Ystradgynlais.

Spelling Pronunciation
Berkshire (county) Bark-sheer
Berwick, Northumberland Berrick
Bicester, Oxfordshire Bister
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Came-bridge
Carlisle, Cumbria Car-lie-all
Derby, Derbyshire Darby
Edinburgh, Scotland Ed-in-burra
Folkestone, Kent Folk-stun
Gloucester, Gloucestershire Gloster
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk Great Yar-muth
Happisburgh, Norfolk Hayes-burra
Hereford, Herefordshire Herr-er-furd
Leicester, Leicestershire (and Leicester Square, London) Lester
Middlesbrough Middles-burra
Norwich, Norfolk Norridge
Plymouth, Devon Plim-uth
Potter Heigham, Norfolk Potter High-em
Reading, Berkshire Redding
Salisbury, Wiltshire Souls-berry
Shrewsbury, Shropshire Shrows-bury or Shrews-bury (both pronunciations are in common use)
Somerset (county) Summer-set
Tacolneston, Norfolk Tackle-stun
Towcester, Northamptonshire Toaster
Wymondham, Norfolk Wind-um
Torquay, Devon Tor-key
Warwick, Warwickshire Wore-ick
Worcester, Worcestershire Wuster
Yeovil, Somerset Yo-vill

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As with all the other pages on this site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.
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Most recently modified 24-Mar-06