Portmeirion

Sealladh air meadhan a' bhaile

Tha am baile Portmeirion suidhichte ann an Gwynedd ann an ceann a tuath na Cuimrigh. Chaidh am baile a dhealbhadh ann an stoidhle Eadailteach agus tha sin gu math tarraingeach don luchd-turais. Chaidh a thogail eadar 1925 is 1975 le Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. Tha aig urras carthannach a-nis.

Tha am baile suidhichte anns an sgireachd Penrhyndeudraeth, aig inbhir Abhainn Dwyryd, mu 2 mìle (3.2 km) san ear-dheas air Porthmadog agus mu mhìle (1.6 km) air falbh bho stèisean ann am Minffordd.

Chaidh mòran fiolmaichean is prògraman Tbh a thogail ann am Portmeirion agus dh'fhàs e ainmeil mar "The Village" anns na 1960an air a' phrògram Tbh "The Prisoner".

Eachdraidh

Bha Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, dealbhaiche Portmeirion, dìreach ag iarraidh baile a chruthachadh aig a bheil coltas is faireachdainn meadhan-thìreach. Dhiùlt e beachdan bho dhaoine eile, gun robh am baile seo a dh'aon rùn mar Portofino anns an Eadailt. Ach tha e ag aideachadh gun robh gaol aige air a' bhaile Eadailteach:

"How should I not have fallen for Portofino? Indeed its image remained with me as an almost perfect example of the man-made adornment and use of an exquisite site."

Chaidh am baile a dhealbhadh is a thogail eadar 1925 is 1975 le Williams-Ellis. Chuir e seann phiosan bho thogalaichean eile a chaidh a leagail ris an fheadhainn ùra. nam measg bha rudan bho Ghabh e stuth bho ailtirean a-steach cuideachd.

Castell Deudraeth

Bha an taigh-òsta; prìomh togalach na h-àite, agus na taighean dùthchail "White Horses", "Mermaid", agus "The Salutation" air oighreachd prìobhaideach ris an chanadh Aber Iâ , a bha air an leudachadh anns na 1850an air an làrach far an robh ionad-leaghaidh is bàta-lann. Dh'atharraich Williams-Ellis ainm a' bhaile gu Portmeirion: "Port-" air sgàth 's gu bheil e faisg air a' chosta; agus "-meirion" bhon sgìreachd Merioneth (Meirionydd) far a bheil am baile suidhichte.

Tha tobhtaichean seann caisteal às na Meadhan aoisean ann an coille dìreach taobh a-muigh a' bhaile. Thug Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) iomradh air ann an 1188. Bha iomadh ainm air leithid Castell Deudraeth, Castell Gwain Goch is Castell Aber Iâ.

In 1931 Williams-Ellis bought from his uncle, Sir Osmund Williams, Bt, the Victorian crenellated mansion Castell Deudraeth with the intention of incorporating it into the Portmeirion hotel complex, but the intervention of the war and other problems prevented this. Williams-Ellis had always considered the Castell to be “the largest and most imposing single building on the Portmeirion Estate" and sought ways to incorporate it. Eventually, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund as well as the Wales Tourist Board, his original aims were achieved and Castell Deudraeth was opened as an 11 bedroom hotel and restaurant on August 20, 2001 by Welsh opera singer Bryn Terfel.

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.

Portmeirion is now owned by a charitable trust, and has always been run as a hotel, which uses the majority of the buildings as hotel rooms or self-catering cottages, together with shops, a cafe, tea-room, and restaurant. Portmeirion is today a top tourist attraction in North Wales [1] and day visits can be made on payment of an admission charge.