The September ’21 Grand tour of mid and North Wales in a motorhome Day 12

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‘Italian architecture in the heart of North Wales’

We head off to Porthmadog, stroll the high street, call in at the bookshop and go down to the Ffestiniog Railway where I take some pictures and video for Dad (he worked on steam trains for half his working life, having trained at the GWR). I buy something from the shop for his birthday; a GWR lorry for his model railway.

And then we head off to Portmeirion.

It is bonkers! A multicoloured, ornate, Italian designed ‘village’ stuck on the Welsh coastline. What is they say about us Welsh? We are like Italians only more waterproof!

Built by the Welsh architect Sir clough Williams-Ellis (1883 – 1978), Portmeirion was his attempt to show how a beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it.

‘Cherish the past, adorn the present, construct for the future’

The motto of Williams-Ellis

All the buildings are listed Grade1 or 2 historic buildings and are now either self-catering cottages or hotel rooms and suites. There are also shops and restaurants as well. It is the place where the famous 60’s TV series ‘The Prisoner’ was filmed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner ) starring Patrick McGoohan. I vaguely remember it on TV, with him constantly running away being chased by big bouncing balls. Or maybe I’m getting confused with ‘It’s a Knockout’. We enjoyed it. It was crowded but very photogenic and the walk out along the coast and back through the landscaped gardens was interesting and beautiful.

On the way out we manage to get a peek of what appears to be the new motorhome Aire they are constructing. It looks as if it is almost ready to open.

Arriving at the Llanystumdwy Camping and Caravan Club site we get a very warm welcome but our hearts still sink when we see the pitch. To be fair the website does warn potential visitors that the slope is steep but even so!

The warden advises us to go in sideways to the slope so that if it rains overnight, we can reverse down the slope onto a gravel track behind. We chock Bryony up on the driver’s side and get ourselves almost level and sorted. The afternoon is spent tidying her up; shaking out mats, hoovering floor with little handheld 12v vac and cleaning the bathroom and kitchen areas. Meanwhile, whilst I am doing that, Maggie has found the site laundrette and is sorting out some washing. It’s good to stop and take a break and catch up on some jobs.

I spend some time doing odd repair jobs. Evosticking down some trim which is coming away in three parts of the habitation unit and inspecting the external freshwater tank outlet pipe tap which seems to have developed a persistent trickle. I have had to twist the pipe upside down and keep the cap on so that it reduces the trickle to a drip. A quick search online shows that a new tap will cost £7.50 plus postage from the Autosleeper spares department.

I also do a temporary fix on the bathroom sink plug washer which has split and started to corrode away. Meanwhile the microwave has started to play up, cutting out after only a couple of minutes. It is all mildly frustrating stuff.

The site is a little dated in our view; slightly crowded and suffering from some road noise (which you eventually get used to). Facilities as always with club sites, are clean and well maintained. The wardens are helpful, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable.