Wales

Portmeirion

Portmeirion was created by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976. He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it.

Clough Williams-Ellis had conceived of a tightly grouped coastal village on some romantic clifftop site, perhaps on an island or a remote estuary. This idea stayed with him for about 20 years until in 1925 he found the Aber Iâ estate on the Dwyryd estuary near his home. It was more or less exactly what he had been hoping for, and it was for sale – he bought if for what is said to be around £5,000.

The first thing he did was change the name to Portmeirion. He did not feel Aber Iâ was approprite as it could mean ‘frozen river mouth’ which was not ideal for a holiday resort.

The name Portmeirion comes from ‘Port’ to put it on the coast and ‘Meirion’ the correct spelling of Merioneth, the county in which it was located.

Portmeirion was built in two stages, from 1925 to 1939 and then once post war building restrictions had been lifted, from 1954-76.

The Prisoner

The television program ‘The Prisoner” starred Patrick McGoohan as Number Six, the leading role in The Prisoner, and he was also the creator and driving force behind the 17 episode series. The series was financed by ITC Entertainment with David Tomblin as the Producer and George Markstein as script editor.

It was probably one of the most influential pieces of televison of the 1960s not only in the UK and USA but also in France, Australia and many other countries. Even The Beatles were fans. Its cult status was confirmed with the establishment in the 1970s of the official Prisoner Appreciation Society, Six of One.

 

Snowden

Snowdonia is a region in northwest Wales concentrated around the mountains and glacial landforms of massive Snowdonia National Park. The park’s historic Snowdon Mountain Railway climbs to the summit of Wales’s highest mountain, Mount Snowdon, offering views across the sea to Ireland.