Note: this is continued from part 1.
Wednesday 24th August
On the Wednesday we had plans to visit the quirky Italianate tourist village of Portmeirion. This was the highlight of the holiday for Michelle, being as it was the filming location for cult classic The Prisoner, one of her favourite series.
Our first stop was the imposing manner house of Castell Deudraeth. The current manor house dates from perhaps the 18th century, but is named for a long lost 12th century castle on the same site. It reopened in 2001 as a hotel and we had a reservation there for lunch.
The interior was beautifully appointed and seemed more in keeping with the era of the building than I might have assumed given the recent refurbishment. We were quite early for lunch so we had plenty of time to drink in the decor as we sat in the comfortable chairs in reception.
We enjoyed a really delicious lunch in very pleasant surroundings, and the waiting staff were all friendly and polite. It was a very civilised way to start our visit.
Included in the meal price were afternoon tickets to visit Portmeirion proper, which isn’t a bad deal — for the three of us a family ticket would have been £37.
When we first arrived we gleefully set about exploring the maze of small paths and stairways.
Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Portmeirion's architect, denied repeated claims that the design was based on the fishing village of Portofino on the Italian Riviera. He stated only that he wanted to pay tribute to the atmosphere of the Mediterranean.
Williams-Ellis designed and constructed the village between 1925 and 1975.
Portmeirion's architectural bricolage and deliberately fanciful nostalgia have been noted as an influence on the development of postmodernism in architecture in the late 20th century.
Some of the paths were steep enough to need a little care to navigate — sometimes a little more care than Aurora cared to employ — but we all got around fine and enjoyed exploring. There was something else of interest around every corner.
As we came down towards the beach, we saw a lovely little garden and pool, presumably for the use of the guests staying on the premises.
We continued down to the shore and walked along the seafront to explore the cluster of buildings ahead.
The village of Portmeirion has been a source of inspiration for writers and television producers. Noël Coward wrote Blithe Spirit while staying in the Fountain 2 suite at Portmeirion. George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells were also early visitors.
The path continued along the coast and we followed it along, enjoying the views along the way, to find another cluster of unique buildings and a slightly confusing statue of Napoleon.
We continued on along the coastal path, towards what the map described as the “lighthouse”, taking only a brief diversion on to the beach.
As promised, there was a lighthouse — of sorts — to be found along the path. Aurora, of course, immediately had to fully explore up it, in it and under it.
We continued on along the path which wended its way through very pleasant woodland, albeit up some fairly steep inclines at times, on a long circle back to the top of the village.
The grounds contain an important collection of rhododendrons and other exotic plants in a wild-garden setting, which was begun before Williams-Ellis's time by the previous owner George Henry Caton Haigh and has continued to be developed since Williams-Ellis's death.
As we came back around to the top of the village, we headed in the explore the remaining corners. For a comparatively small area, there’s an awful lot to see!
In 1966–1967, Patrick McGoohan returned to Portmeirion to film exteriors for The Prisoner, a surreal spy drama in which Portmeirion played a starring role as “The Village”.
At Williams-Ellis' request, Portmeirion was not identified on screen as the filming location until the credits of the final episode of the series, and indeed, Williams-Ellis stated that the levy of an entrance fee was a deliberate ploy to prevent the Village from being spoilt by overcrowding.
Portmeirion Town Hall is a grade I listed building, incorporating stonework and the Hercules Hall from the demolished Emral Hall in Flintshire.
At this point we’d finally seen most of what there was to see, so we nosed around the two gift shops, took a few more photos and headed out.
Thursday 25th August
The following day we were a little tired from the walks through forested hills, but fortunately we had something relaxing planned — a journey on the steam-powered Ffestiniog Railway.
After a relaxed morning we drove over to Porthmadog, where the line starts.
We were in good time, so we grabbed some sandwiches for lunch and headed to our seats. We’d opted for first class, so we go great views and spacious seating.
The line was constructed between 1833 and 1836 to transport slate from the quarries around the inland town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ships.
After departure, the line heads along The Cob, which is a large embankment that holds the sea out, and offers a secure route for cars and trains to cross the bay. The views from it across the estuary were delightful on a sunny day.
After crossing the estuary, the track winds its way gradually upwards, offering clear views of the changing scenery along the way.
The railway was graded so that loaded wagons could be run by gravity downhill all the way from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the port. The empty wagons were hauled back up by horses, which travelled down in special 'dandy' wagons.
In 1860, the board of the company began to investigate the possibility of introducing steam locomotives to increase the carrying capacity of the railway. Although narrow-gauge steam locomotives had been tried before this, very few had been built to so narrow a gauge.
The first of these locomotives, Mountaineer was delivered to Porthmadog on 18 July 1863, followed a few days later by The Princess. After a number of trials and some modifications to the locomotive, the first official train ran on 23 October 1863.
As we got higher, the scenery became a little more rugged and precipitous. Much of the line still wound its way through ancient-looking woodland but there were beautiful views between the trees.
We arrived a little behind schedule, so we only had around 20 minutes to look around. Still, we hadn’t really planned to spend a long time there, so this wasn’t a particular hardship.
During the 1860s and 1870s the boom in the slate industry fed the nascent town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. It gained its first church and first school and saw much ribbon development along its roads. The Old Market Hall, which also served as the town hall, was completed in 1864. By 1881, its population had reached 11,274.
As the slate industry shrank, so did the population of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which fell to 4,875 in 2011. Tourism became the town's largest employer, with the development of Gloddfa Ganol in the Oakeley quarry and the Slate Caverns at Llechwedd quarry. The revived Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd remain popular attractions.
As it happens our stay in Blaenau Ffestiniog was rather extended, as a train coming up had broken down and was awaiting rescue — as there’s only a single track for most of the way, this meant we couldn’t leave until the line was cleared.
Fortunately we’d had the foresight to book an afternoon cream tea deal, however, so we had some delicious wraps, scones and tea to enjoy in our comfortable seating onboard the train while we waited.
On the way back we we’re keeping a steady pace, presumably to give them more time to keep the line clear ahead. This meant a slower return journey, but also more time to enjoy the scenery, such as this delightful little waterfall.
The loaded slate trains continued to operate by gravity until the end of passenger services in 1939. Slate trains eventually became very long – trains of less than eighty slate wagons carried two brakesmen but over eighty wagons (and this became common) required three brakesmen. About one wagon in every six was equipped with a brake.
We made it back to Porthmadog rather later than planned, but we didn’t have any evening plans behind dinner back at the bungalow so the only issue was that we’d paid for insufficient parking. Thankfully we’d even been able to extend that using the phone, however — whilst it’s lovely to see old technology still in use, new technology has its advantages.
Friday 26th August
Friday was our last full day in Wales and since we hadn’t managed to visit a single castle, we thought we’d better rectify this situation sharpish. We headed off for Harlech Castle and, despite some minor arguments with the satnav, we got there in good time.
Harlech Castle was built by Edward I from 1282 to 1289 during his invasion of Wales. Originally there would have been a stone bridge to access the gate, but this long ago fell into disrepair and has been replaced by a rather more modern equivalent.
Crossing the bridge, more or less as people would have been doing seven centuries ago, we started to explore the castle ruins.
UNESCO considers Harlech, with three others at Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon, to be one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe", and it is classed as a World Heritage Site.
The fortification is built of local stone and concentric in design, featuring a massive gatehouse that probably once provided high-status accommodation for the castle constable and visiting dignitaries.
The sea originally came much closer to Harlech than in modern times, and a water-gate and a long flight of steps leads down from the castle to the former shore, which allowed the castle to be resupplied by sea during sieges.
After exploring the ruins of the keep, we headed up a narrow spiral staircase and out on the walls, with excellent views both inside and out of the site.
Construction continued under the overall direction of James of Saint George, a Savoy architect and military engineer. In 1286, at the height of the construction, the workforce comprised 546 general labourers, 115 quarriers, 30 blacksmiths, 22 carpenters and 227 stonemasons, and the project was costing nearly £240 a month.
After exploring the tops of the walls, it was time to head back down. Michelle and Aurora headed out to find somewhere to get an ice-cream, but I stuck around for a few more minutes to take some more photos.
I’m glad I did poke around a bit more as I discovered we’d missed some stairs up one of the inner gatehouse towers. The ascent was one long spiral staircase, which left me rather out of breath, but the views from the top were worth it.
I took a video which covers about three quarters of the descent, which gives you some idea of the length of the staircase.
Then it as time to bid the castle farewell, and head back to pack our things for the long drive home the following day.
Just time for one last delicious ice-cream.