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Portmeirion

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davidx
davidx
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4 out of 5
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7
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Editor Pick

The Village Experience

  • September 26, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Portmeirion is almost etched into me as an iconic sight and I guess it derived national notoriety from the days of the infamous TV series of "the Prisoner". In reality I never watched the series but subsumed the knowledge from friends to the point that I almost believed that I watched every programme!

But a true icon stands in its own right and that’s exactly how Portmeirion was when we visited. The sky had been shrouded in a light mist, but by the time we got out of our car the blue sky was beginning to show. Indeed it turned out to be a glorious day – one of the best we’ve experienced this summer. It’s only a short walk from the car park to the toll gate and we paid over our £6.80 a head to enter the village and its grounds – it’s not cheap but I reckon it’s not a bad fee for seeing this unique place.

The admission brochure states that Clough Williams-Ellis had "long dreamt of building his own ideal village on a romantic shoreline". As a practising architect he discovered a hotel just outside Porthmadog and having started on an elaborate makeover in 1920 was surprised that friends and others wanted to spend time in this idyllic spot. It was from these small beginnings that Clough decided to develop his dream. He had a view that it should be possible to develop and exploit even the most beautiful of places without spoiling them. Indeed he believed that "given loving care and sympathy they could be made yet lovelier by manipulation".

We watched a 25-minute video that was prepared and edited by Clough as he approached the end of his life. He was clearly very proud of his achievements at Portmeirion; proud of the fact that the government has declared that the buildings in the village should "listed" and that there should be no developments unless these are agreed through the relevant committee processes. Indeed he noted the irony that a proposal that he made was not immediately agreed and he had to wait several months for approval! In the film we watched him strolling around his creation dressed in his plus-fours and bright yellow socks. He was a true British eccentric who over half a century was involved in the ongoing planning and development of the site of Porthmeirion (a name that he gave to the village as he did not care for the original Welsh name of the bay, which was "harsh and uncomplimentary").

Clough, who was 90 when he "completed" work on this government declared conservation site and had worked determinedly for the protection of rural Wales and conservation in general. He fought for beauty "that strange necessity" and in his work at Portmeirion was determined that the site should "speak for itself." He did not want people slavishly to follow signposts or read "boards" - rather that they should "experience" Portmeirion for themselves instead of taking direction from others.

From journal Portmeirion and Beyond

Editor Pick

The Village

  • September 26, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Entering the village from the car park we headed through the entrance archway to discover each of the monumental buildings in Clough’s village. They all have an interesting story to tell in the context of this diminutive village.

The Gate House or entrance arch (1954-55) straddles the walkway and rather than clear the site for the building Clough made use of the existing geology incorporating the rugged rock formations into the construction of the Gate House. The deep archway, which is lit up at dusk, contains a ceiling mural by Hans Feibusch who painted several others within the village. There’s a randomised fenestration and the hint of windows created by the cutting of shapes into the upper rendering and then painting them as if they were shutters. It’s very Baroque in character.

There are now no choices as we continued down the “forced” walk to the village itself and next we are passing under the second of Clough’s entrance arches to his village. The Bridge House (1958) is a Classical building of early eighteenth century character and is topped by four tall urns. At the back it has one large Venetian arched window saved from Arnos Court in Bristol, which was falling into rack and ruin after its heavy bombing in the second World War.

Having advanced through this second arch we get our first view of the village proper. And it really does have the wow factor.

Interestingly the village turned out to seem much, much bigger than it really is because as we approached the buildings from different directions they looked like different structures.

The Toll House (1929) has an ancient Scandinavian appearance with the upper storeys faced with weatherboarding. It was one of the first buildings built around Battery Square and it’s festooned with plaques, bells and signs with what seems quite bizarre - a wooden painted statue of Saint Peter on a balcony complete with a small canopy above his head (presumably to keep off the rain!!). Back in 1929 this was the outer limit of the village and a bell was there to summons the gatekeeper who would then pull up the blue and white poll to enable access. I was kind of amused by the cut-out sheep that is hanging, or draped, just in front of St Peter. It was designed by Susan William’s Ellis (Clough’s daughter) and was commissioned by Clough for the sign of the Welsh Wool Shop. Her work didn’t stop there and there are other murals by her at the “Salutation” and lady’s Lodge. She was also responsible for the pottery designed at Portmeirion.

It will be no surprise to learn that there are chances to buy Portmeirion pottery in the village (although it is actually manufactured at Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands). The seconds shop has virtually all the options you could imagine although if you’re after a real bargain be prepared to be disappointed as the items are still quite expensive even at discounted prices.

From journal Portmeirion and Beyond

Editor Pick

Portmeirion's gardens

  • September 26, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Portmeirion's gardens

Potmeirion’s parklands are never far from the village and there are signed routes around the circular walks. Although you can access some of the walks on tarmaced paths the majority are over uneven and sometimes difficult terrain with awkward “natural staircases” to aid the transition between levels.

We were particularly enchanted by the Japanese garden with its lily ponds. It was almost hidden from the rest of the gardens and it was soon evident that the architect of Portmeirion didn’t believe in making life easy for anyone touring the place. His view was always that the creation should “speak for itself” and people should experience it and enjoy the exploration. And it’s hard to dispute that argument when you almost seem to stumble upon the delights of a Japanese Bridge overlooked by a Pagoda.

The woodland or Gwyllt (Welsh for wild place) covers over seventy acres and I won’t pretend that we trekked over every single square metre. But because Portmeirion enjoys an almost frost free micro climate it’s crammed with non-indigenous plants and trees that you’d really not expect to see in England. There’s the huge leafed “Gunnera Manicata” from the Brazilian rainforest and a host of exotic trees including ginkgos, ribbonnwood, chusan palms, Cedar elegans ( a tall Japanese cedar and the Chilian Maiten tree. The tree barks alone give a multitude of colours, which change as the sunlight filters through the high leafed canopy. But just look out for amazing branch configuration which give many of the trees a truly animated appearance.

We’d come to Potmeirion a little early in the season to appreciate the glorious colours offered by the rhododendrons which have been in the parklands since early in the 20th Century and could only imagine the impact of this wealth of bright colours by the fact that a few flowers had “broken early in the season”.

Although the walks high in the woodlands are fascinating I really loved the walk closer to the coast. If you continue past the Lily ponds the walk meanders down towards Goleudy lighthouse and then back along the beach edge to the hotel and village. The beach, at low tide, is a hive of activity with sandpipers picking their way through the soggy sands and the huge gulls patrolling “their territory” for diner. Protrudances of rock covered in seeweed, lichens and moss make for fascinating viewing and there are some really great views across the water into the nearby hills (not that you’re ever far from hills in this part of Wales. If you’re tempted to walk the beach do please note that you’ll more than likely be walking on quick sands at some point. Not that the sands will engulf you more that they’ll cover you at least to your ankles making walking a wee bit difficult.

Along “seaside Path” and you’ll pass by the beach’s lookout tower (there’s one with better views over the other side of the village at “Grotto Viewpoint”) with a Waterloo figure standing guard.

From journal Portmeirion and Beyond

Portmeirion

  • August 21, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by ggcahill from Mont Albert North, undefined, Australia
Portmeirion

A quaint village with an Italian theme in North Wales! Designed by renowned Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis to demonstrate how a naturally beautiful place can be developed without spoiling it. A good range of accommodation from self-catering to luxury hotel, all surrounded by gardens but frequented by large numbers of tourists. Not a place for a quiet escape, although perhaps things settle when the day trippers leave. Really worth a visit. We spent most of the day there and were sorry to leave. We had our lodgings booked in Llanberis!

From journal North Wales

Editor Pick

Portmeirion

  • November 8, 2002
  • Rated 2 of 5 by Bear in Britain from Windsor, United Kingdom
Portmeirion

Portmeirion is one of the top sights in North Wales, and it doesn’t deserve it.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s as an interesting day out. It’s quirky, amusing, and set amongst some gorgeous countryside. But it is a LONG way from anywhere else, it’s more expensive than comparable tourist attractions, and there’s very little to do once you’re there.

First, some history. Architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, quintessential eccentric Brit, dreamed of building a perfect Mediterranean style village on a warm island somewhere that he could turn into his own personal paradise. Failing to find the spot, he set to work on a slice of family land on a rainy, windswept peninsula in Wales. He patched together bits of rescued architecture with his own designs and came up with his fantasy village.

The only thing you’ve ever seen quite like it is Disney, and you expect small people in character costumes to pop out at any minute. Some of the buildings are spectacular. You have to chuckle admiringly at the way Dutch gables, medieval gee gaws, Spanish tiles, and Mediterranean colors come together in a wacky whole. If I were a pirate queen in a 1950s Errol Flynn flick, I would live here.

Its isolated position should have doomed Portmeirion to the oblivion of other architectural white elephants. Three things intervened.

First, The Prisoner. This surreal ‘60s television show was filmed here and became a cult favorite. There’s a shop here dedicated to the show, and fans travel here to pay homage.

Second, the hotel. At some point someone decided to turn the whole place into an upscale holiday village. You can stay in the big house at the bottom of the village, next to the tidal waters of a broad estuary, or in one of the quirky buildings that make up the village. As a tourist attraction, I bristle at paying xx to see a stage set. As an unusual hotel backdrop, it works.

Third, the china. Clough’s daughter Susan started a china company named after the village, and her "Botanic Garden" pattern became one of the biggest sellers of the late 20th century. Interestingly, the pattern is far more prized in America than it is in its home country. Many collectors of the china come here to see what inspired it, and with the thought that they’re going to get some good deals. There is a shop here, but it doesn’t carry the full range and you can find it cheaper. The factory outlet in Stoke on Trent is the place to go for the real bargains.

So, my final take on Portmeirion. I recommend it IF: (A) you realize that you’re basically paying to walk around a hotel, and (B) you’re ready to drive a couple of hours each way to do it.

From journal Grandeur & Luxury in North Wales

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