Llanfabon Sun

The parishioners of Llanwynno were as proud as peacocks of their new church bell. It was made of silver; winked at the sun, twinkled at the moon, and possessed the gift of the glorious gab.

So jealous were the villagers of nearby Llanfabon their eyes were yellow with jaundice, and they earmarked the bell, crown and clapper, for their own.

One night, as black as a tinker’s pot, they spirited the bell away, its clapper-tongue gagged in velvet and straw. They moved quickly, flying on the wing of the wind, because they had to complete their skullduggery before sunrise.

As they were carrying the bell across the River Taff, the moon, who had been skylarking with the stars, peekabooed from behind a cloud. The men of Llanfabon thought it was day, panicked and dropped the bell into the river. It babbled from sight and was lost forever, mute beneath the waters of the Taff.

And, that is why, to this very day, the people of Llanwynno and Llanfabon (who have long since buried the hatchet) call the moon, ‘haul Llanfabon’, the Llanfabon sun.

© copyright 2025 Your Tourism Community :: Design by Yvonne Tsang & Kate Watkiss. Powered by Your Tourism Community