If you visit the lovely village of Beddgelert in Eryri (Snowdonia), you can’t miss the signs for the grave of Gelert, a dog. Some say that the hound gave the village its name – bedd is Welsh for grave.

A short walk along the Afon Glaslyn will bring you to a grove of trees, under which is a solemn stone, and plaques in Welsh and English telling Gelert’s tragic story. When Prince Llewelyn returned from hunting, he was greeted joyously by a blood-stained Gelert. The legendary prince was horrified to see his son’s cot empty, and covered with blood. Assuming that Gelert had killed his son, the desperate prince killed the hound with his sword.

Gelert’s dying cries were echoed by a child’s cry. Llewelyn found his son unharmed, but a mighty wolf’s body lay nearby. A remorseful Llywelyn realised that Gelert had saved rather than killed his precious son. The prince never smiled again after burying Gelert where he fell beside Afon Glaslyn.

It’s a heart-rending story, but needless to say it is no more than a legend. Or should I say clever 18th century marketing? The legend was created in 1793 by the landlord of the Royal Goat Hotel in Beddgelert, who didn’t need Instagram or TikTok to spread profitable misinformation. He saw that in that romantic era people would flock to the village – and more importantly the Royal Goat – to pay tribute to the faithful hound. You might say Wales saw the attractions of a legendary dog years before Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Bobby was born. (At least that Scottish dog lived, even if the details of Bobby’s story have been questioned.)

Gelert isn’t the only example of North Walian marketing genius. The world’s second longest place name – seen on the railway station nameboard – was supposedly invented by a Victorian tailor in the 1860s to draw tourists to the village on Ynys Môn (Anglesey). The locals tend to call in Llanfair PG, or Llanfairpwll. If only the name included a dog’s name…