Welcome to Portmeirion, the Italian village in the country of Wales. This may need some explaining…Born in 1883, Clough Williams had a childhood dream of being an architect and town planner. His vision was creating what he thought would be the perfect town. In 1925, after an exhaustive search, Clough found what he thought would be the perfect place for his perfect town. The site included an abandoned castle (which isn’t that unusual in Wales). Clough first fixed up the castle so that he could generate revenue renting it out as a venue and then started to build his ideal town not far from the castle. It is said the town is modeled after the Italian village of Portofino, but Clough denies this claim. He does say he was inspired by the beauty of the Mediterranean however. Hey! Stop jumping in front of my camera. I’m trying to share a story here! Progress on his idealistic village was going well, until WW2 started. There were restrictions on building materials during this time so the village was put on hold from 1939 to 1954. After the war, he started building again and the village was finished in 76. Today, the buildings in the village are hotels and restaurants. You can grab a bite or even spend the night in one of the buildings. Many of the buildings in the village are sourced from old castles and historic buildings from around Wales that were slated for demolition. Clough would scavenge parts from these buildings and bring them back to incorporate into Portmeirion. This seems like the high point to me. So traditional summit selfie time! The village now hosts about 250,000 visitors a year and not only is it a hotel but often used as the set for television and movies set in the Mediterranean. I do believe the white smoke coming from the chimney means they have elected a new Pope. The village is right on the estuary of the River Dwyryd, so it makes sense they would have a boat. But in this case, this one is completely made of concrete and is just for show. Looking back up at the perfect Italian village, nestled on the Welsh coast line. Part of the property includes a number of short hiking trails that skirt the coast and pass through a forest. Of course, I can’t help myself and had to go exploring. There are a number of very nice gardens where Clough has imported unusual tress and plants from around the world. Including a giant sequoia from California and even a Douglas fir tree from Canada (how exotic!).Or how about this cool looking South American Monkey Puzzle plant. So if you ever find yourself wanting to experience the Mediterranean, go to Wales instead.
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