Hello. I'm back at Tightwad Towers, headquarters of Life After Money. As regular readers will know, this is where I share my frugal living money saving methods, which gives me cash to spend on treats, and holidays are my treats.
Time to catch up on where I have been. I had a list of places to visit on my North Wales tour, some of them I didn't have time to do, but never mind, another visit might happen at a later date.
This post is all about Portmeirion, which is a delightful tourist village in Gwynedd, not far from Porthmadog. From the moment I walked through the entrance I thought WOW, this place is fabulous.
It was built by architect Clough Williams-Ellis to show how a beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it. All buildings at Portmeirion are registered Grade 1 or Grade 11 historic buildings. The village is surrounded by 70 acres of forest gardens. Portmeirion is owned by a charity.
The colourful entrance is a taste of what's to come. The buildings blend in well with the rugged natural rockface.
Every building is painted in candy colour, it looks like a giant sweetie village.
Some of these buildings are self catering cottages, there are thirteen in total sleeping from three to eight people.
Anyone for chess?
Look into a window and you will see Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatters tea party.
The little train does a tour of the gardens. Free to go on.
Fantastic views from high up in the woods.
This is the Town Hall.
I just had to have an ice cream cornet, twenty flavours to choose from. The strawberry cheesecake is lovely.
This is the hotel, it's right on the edge of the water, with fabulous views over the bay.
The flowers in full bloom are beginning to drop their petals.
Deep in the wood is the Dogs Cemetery. The wooden figure has been carved with a chain saw. I found this secluded spot very emotional, thinking about Rocky.
There are lots of steps and secret pathways, it's like an enchanted wood.
This is Castell Deudraeth, a Victorian mansion which is now a hotel.
I absolutely loved Portmeirion, it's like a theme park for adults, but without the tackyness and noise. It's a land of make believe for big kids like me. If you get the chance go and see it for yourself. Check out the
web site here.
More about my North Wales trip tomorrow. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip
Thank you for this tour; I admire the architect and am surprised it was built rather recently (1900s). He had a great vision. I like the dog sculpture.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are eye candy for sure. There are so much to see. Hope you will post more pictures along with your up coming blog posts.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your photos Ilona -Portmeirion looks a very special place.What a beautiful dog cemetery.I still get very emotional about my darling dogs ,but they are still loved and the bond will always be there.You have had a great time by the look of it.Sweet dreams snuggled up back home with your girlies x
ReplyDeleteI have almost identical photos from several visits. It is a truly spectacular place which I will always return to. Your readers may remember Tne Prisoner (TV series from the 1970s) which was almost solely filmed in this magical place.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Ilona, do people actually live there? Or is it totally tourist based?
ReplyDeleteHi. I'm not sure, I think it's tourist based, though I suppose it's possible that some staff might live there.
DeleteJust popping in to say no one lives there but you can book rooms in the houses or the hotel on the site. If you're willing to take a mortgage on your soul! It's VERY expensive to stay there!
DeleteLooks fabulous and well worth a visit, thank you for sharing. I knew they filmed a tv series here but could not remember what it was called, but 'thisissixty.blog' provided the answer in comments.
ReplyDeleteHappy to be of service! Eloise
DeleteCome in number one, I've always wanted to visit the place when I watched the prisoner. Seeing it in colour is a real treat as the series was in black and white.
ReplyDeleteI've had the pleasure of visiting this lovely city in 1998 and again on a tour with a bunch of friends in 2012...I love North Wales and have visited three times! It has a special place in my heart as I spread my mother's ashes in two places that we loved to visit. It is a wonderful area, full of fantastic memories! Amy
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos and such a pretty place. Unfortunately each time we visited Portmerion we could not go in for we had dogs with us. Thank you for letting me see it thru your eyes Ilona.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week.
Hazel c uk
Your photographs are gorgeous, Ilona, and it sounds like you had a wonderful trip. You describe everything with such enthusiasm and you take such delight in the sights and sounds of the places you visit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these really great photo's of Portmerion village Ilona. I loved the cult series "The Prisoner" from the 70's and was really hooked on it, always promised myself I would go there one day. Having just read Hazel's post above me I guess it will have to wait as like her... holidays will always include my dog. The doggy rules I do fully understand but the no dog policy in places like Portmerion means they lose out on income from very sensible dog owners with well behaved dogs who wouldn't dream of letting their dogs flout the rules...so we find other places to go instead. Hey ho Rae x
ReplyDeleteHi Rae, it might have changed now for that was over 30 years ago when my husband was still alive.
DeleteHazel c uk
Thanks for that Hazel...must admit I hadn't checked. I'm sure being a dog lover you know what I mean...many times if we really wanted to have a look round a place one of us would wait outside with the dog or in a nearby cafe/sunny spot whilst the other went in. Much more enjoyable to visit together though so we tend not to bother. Rae x
DeleteStill don't allow dogs!@
Deletelooks like you pushed the boat out there Ilona heehee. Entry and an ice cream!! just joking you look like you have had a great few days away.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, there was a reduced entry charge in the late afternoon. We were told about this in the Tourist Office in Porthmadog, but it is not widely advertised, so worth checking before you go.
DeleteSmashing photos. Natalie
ReplyDeleteWe were there last April. Interesting place. We were shocked at the color compared to the soft and subdued beauty of the rest of the area.
ReplyDeleteYes,it does look quite bright but I wondered whether it was meant to be like the beautiful millefiori glass.My father was Italian and used to surprise me and my mum with his choices of colour x
DeleteWe went there last year, it really is a magical place isn't it. It must be brilliant to stay in the holiday cottages and have the run of the place once the day visitors have gone home. It's not that far from us so I might persuade LH that we need to have a return visit :-)
ReplyDeletegood to see that you enjoyed the place and it is still looking well....I used to run the bookshop there over 20 years ago. Lunchtime was bliss,having 100 acres to wander through and knowing the most secret and magical corners to relax in
ReplyDelete