Portmeirion
Portmeirion Village and Gardens
Portmeirion,
Gwynedd, LL48 6ER
Tel: 01766 772311
About Portmeirion
Portmeirion is a family attraction that makes for a perfect family day out or holiday destination. Located between Penrhyndeudraeth and Porthmadog on a private peninsula in north-west Wales, Portmeirion was the location of cult 60s Patrick McGoohan TV series The Prisoner. Its Italianate village was built between 1925 and 1976 by conservationist Sir Clough Williams-Ellis and is a uniquely captivating family attraction. Just the ticket for rest and relaxation.
Dating back to an estate mansion of the 1840s, Portmeirion (originally Aber Lâ - Glacial Estuary) sits amid some of Snowdonia’s most stunning scenery on a coast warmed by the Gulf Stream. Portmeirion’s micro-climate means that exotic plants thrive in its 70 acre sub-tropical garden, with over 5000 species, including rhododendrons, camellias, Californian redwoods, Gingko biloba, Brazilian Gunnera, Japanese Acer, Douglas Fir, Wellingtonia, Himalayan Fir, sessile oak, Portugal and Cherry Laurels, Tulip Tree, Monkey Puzzle, Weeping Silver Lime, Bay Trees, and the tallest Chilean maiten in Britain.
Portmeirion boasts deluxe restaurants, cafes and two palatial hotels. The sumptuous Grade II Hotel of 1850 was extended by Williams-Ellis in 1935. Gutted by fire in 1981, it reopened seven years later and has 42 rooms and suites, its past clientele including H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell and Noël Coward. There are 17 self-catering cottages and the Hercules Hall, Tudor Room and Castell Deudraeth - with 11 suites and bedrooms, exhibition space and a Victorian walled garden - host weddings.
Portmeirion is a registered charity and custodian to 50 buildings, many replicating architectural styles from around the world, making for a breath-taking family attraction. Williams-Ellis’ motto was “Cherish the Past, Adorn the Present, Construct for the Future.” His village was constructed in two stages, most buildings erected 1925-39, with classical and Palladian additions in 1954-76. Several were salvaged from demolitions, the last being a tollgate.
Quirky features accessed by a ticket to Portmeirion include a Dogs' Cemetery established by eccentric Mrs. Adelaide Haig, who kept mongrels in the Mirror Room and read sermons to them from behind a screen! Not something your average family attraction boasts.
A ticket also grants entry to the enchanting gardens and Gwyllt - wild place - including a Triumphal Arch, Salutation Woods, lakes, avenues, a Chinese bridge and pagoda, Classical temple, heathland heathers and mosses on rock outcrops, drystone sheepfolds, lawns and terraced flower gardens.
The family attraction has over 20 miles of paths to beaches, cliffs and salt marshes at Trwyn y Penrhyn and Whitesands Bay, while the Grade II Plas Brondanw, dating to 1550, and restored after a fire in 1951, has a flaming urn above a chasm there. A children’s play area at the base of the castle rock and picnic benches are sited with amazing vistas, while shops include the Portmeirion Seconds Warehouse, gift, jam-preserve and book shops, the Prisoner Shop, the Dome Gallery and a Plant Centre. With Disabled parking and two wheelchairs available at the tollgate, there’s good dsiabled access to the family attraction every day of the year, making it a fantastic family day out for everyone. Just the ticket.