Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Monday 24 October 2011

North Wales - Day 3 Wednesday 19th October - Portmeirion Part 1



Today we went to Portmeirion an Italian styled village designed and built by Sir Clough William-Ellis between 1925 and 1975.

According to the official Portmeirion website it "was built to show how you could develop a naturally beautiful setting without spoiling and with sufficient skill and care and architectural good manners can actually enhance the natural environment".

"Cherish the Past
Adorn the Present
Construct for the Future"

said Clough William-Ellis

The weather was very mixed during our visit - rain when we arrived followed by an hour of sunshine when I tried to take most of the photos! and then sunshine and showers.

Portmeirion, of course, was The Village in the famous 1960's televison series - The Prisoner. I have to admit we are huge fans of this series and over the years have visited Portmeirion many times - one of the more unusual visits coincided with a Prisoner Convention and it was incredible to see all the green and yellow Caterham 7 cars, people dressed in "Prisoner" type clothes enacting various scenes from the series such as the chess game.

I've decided to spread the photos over 2 blog postings - not because the photos are particularly good (they aren't!!) but because its such a beautiful place that I wanted to share it with everyone especially those who may not have visited.



You pass through the Gatehouse on arrival













The Pantheon (the Green Dome in the Prisoner series) and the Bell Tower (or Campanile)



The Round House - this was used by Patrick McGoohan as Number 6's residence. It now houses The Prisoner Shop








The Battery and Bell Tower



The Pantheon (or Green Dome)






The Gloriette



The Bristol Colonnade, Bell Tower and Dome



Statue of Hercules






The Gothic Pavilion





The Bristol Colonnade







The Dome, Colonnade and Round House (No 6's House)



The Gloriette



The Piazza and Pool







Mermaid








Part 2 will include more photos of the village and hotel, views of the estuary and woodland.

2 comments:

The Quacks of Life said...

looks superb!! I really need to go there

Ragged Robin said...

It is superb Pete and very photogenic!
Just about to start uploading next set of photos but I only hope I won't spoil the surprises of the place (although there are a lot not photographed!)