Our next day trip on holiday was to the village of Portmeirion. This was a little further away; though still in North Wales, it’s not along the north coast but instead further south, near Portmadog. The village was built gradually over 50 years between 1925 and 1975, and is designed to look like a Mediterrean port village, but on a small scale. So, unlike most of the local architecture, the buildings are brightly coloured, with lots of tropical planting.
It has always been designed to be a tourist attraction, and many of the buildings are available as holiday cottages. There’s also a range of gift shops and cafés, and some formal gardens and woodland.
All of us had been before, including our nine-year-old, although they were only two on their previous visit. I think they liked the smaller scale of it, and that there’s lots of little nooks and crannies to explore. Over the years, it’s been a popular filming location, and many of the buildings are now listed as heritage assets. The pottery brand Portmeirion takes its name from the village, and yes, there’s a pottery factory shop in the village.
Even though the weather was quite dull when we visited, I still took plenty of photos as it’s so picturesque.
Accessibility
Portmeirion is quite expensive, at £20 for an adult day ticket (at the time of writing). However, you can easily spend the whole day here – especially if you head off on the various walks. Being located on a hill side, with the car parks at the top, means it may be hard work for those with mobility issues. Whilst there are steps in places, there are usually alternative ramped routes available.
There is a large car park at the top, with 10 electric car charging points offering medium-speed 7kW AC output (Type 2), on the Monta network. At the time of our visit, we paid 60p per kWh to charge. Some of the charge points were out of order, however.
The nearest railway station is Minffordd, which is on the Cambrian Coast Line with trains from Birmingham, and the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog Steam Railway. This is also where the nearest bus stop is. There’s then a 1 1/2 mile walk to Portmeirion.
Also nearby
After visiting Portmeirion, we went to Porthmadog, which is the terminus for both the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland narrow gauge steam railways. We didn’t have time for a journey – a return trip on the Welsh Highland Railway to Caernarfon and back takes most of the day – but we did watch a couple of trains departing and visited the shop.
