Picturesque Portmeirion
A very British (recycled) tourist attraction
“Cherish the past, adorn the present, construct for the future,” is what Clough Williams-Ellis said when he spoke about his precious Portmeirion. It’s a truly magical village of varied architecture nestling on the Welsh coastline near Porthmadog, Gwynedd. And its trademark brightly coloured buildings make Portmeirion a delight to visit at any time of year.
Popular with many people as the setting for the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner, I was surprised to discover that seventeen of the brightly coloured buildings are used as self-catering holiday accommodation. And if you prefer to be waited on hand and foot when on holiday, Portmeirion must have one of the best-placed hotels in Wales. With views stretching over the estuary, and back up to the village, it truly is a great place to relax.
This was my fourth visit to the village, and on this occasion I was amazed to discover the amount of recycling and use of existing materials that Clough Williams-Ellis undertook when building Portmeirion.
Who’d have thought, when he bought the land in 1925 for the princely sum of £5,000, he’d end up…
