Advantages: Simply beautiful, gateway to Llyn and Snowdonia, nearby beaches
Disadvantages: Busy at peak times

...Porthmadog is a small harbour town which is the gateway to the Llyn peninsula, and also the starting point of one of Britains most scenic railways, the Ffestiniog line. It's location in the top right hand corner of Cardigan Bay on the Welsh coast makes it an ideal base for a touring holiday for Snowdonia, Llyn, and Cardigan Bay, in my opinion the three most beautiful parts of Wales. Approaching the town from the East the traveller cannot fail to be impressed by the town's stunning setting. It is dominated on one side by 'Moel y Gest' 262 metres above the town. To the North and East the wide expanse of the Glaslyn estuary, renowned as a haven for migrating birds and wildlife, extends dramatically towards the Snowdon range. The "Cob" embankment to enter Porthmadog strides across Afon Glaslyn with both road and rail links... Read review

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Advantages: Good day out, Clean beaches
Disadvantages: Not a lot to do at night

...Porthmadog, Wales I first went there a few years ago after being recommended to go as the beach close by called Black Rock Sands would be brilliant to take the dogs on. It's brilliant as Black Rock beach is a drive on beach and dogs are welcome all year round on certain parts of the beach. It is kept clean and it's patrolled by lifeguards to looks after everyone and make sure they are safe. The waters clean for a UK beach and warm in the summer. There is a small charge for getting on the beach at holiday seasons but it isn't very much and well worth it for a day on the beach. It's also good late in the evening when everyone else has gone home to just have a drive across the beach. In the town itself there is a variety of shops, cafés and various other things to look at including the steam railway that goes across some... Read review

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Advantages: small, friendly not to pricy.
Disadvantages: No garenteed weather.

...I have lived in north Wales for the past 15 years, and have seen may changes in the seaside town of Porthmadog where I live. It has to be said that over recent years the town has become more and more popular with the tourists. First impressions of Porthmadog are that it seemingly only has one main high street to the whole town and this is true. As you enter Porthmadog via the embankment or “Cob” as it is fondly known as you will be greeted by the puffs of steam that filter down from the famous Ffestiniog railway above that runs from Porthmadog along a small narrow track all the way to the vale of Ffestiniog. During summer months this offers tourists and locals alike the chance to sit back and enjoy the breath taking scenery around this area, from the small windows of the restored and well maintained carriages a whole new world opens... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderful small railway - see the sites and stay out of the rain!
Disadvantages: None

...Sea on one side, river on the other, the platform at Porthmadog is unlike any other. The tracks lead away across a stone causeway. Waves lap one side, on the other a wide sweep of river estuary leads to mountains in the distance. And up those mountains the train will weave, finding a route along ridges. Pulled by a powerful small steam engine ever upwards, through tunnels, across bridges puffing up 700 feet, thirteen and a half miles and eighty minutes through Snowdonia National Park to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Ffestiniog railway was built to transport slate quarried from the hills behind Blaenau Ffestiniog down to a specially constructed jetty at Porthmadog. The original motive power was horses that pulled up the empty trucks and rode back down in the last carriage as gravity pulled the train down towards the sea. Nowadays... Read review

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Advantages: Superbly Pretty Mediterranean-Style Village On the Welsh Coast...
Disadvantages: Half the fun is getting there... or perhaps not.

..., a cheery-looking Scotsman was cooking up a full English for a large, ginger clan on a state-of -the-art camping stove. 'Tea's up!', he called lustily, as the kettle began to whistle... We scrambled into the car as quickly as possible and sped away, abandoning the tent where it stood. THE APPROACH: The map revealed that we were almost there; Portmeirion, it seemed, was less than 20 miles away. The Scotsman's fry-up had left us both with a lingering sense of deprivation and desire, so we paused for breakfast in Porthmadog at the quaintly named 'Jenny's Eating House'. Afterwards, we were lurking about outside; I stood blankly inspecting a postcard display whilst my husband finished his cigarette. A large coach pulled up, and a noisy gaggle of middle-aged Americans emerged, cameras slung over their necks, the men in baseball caps and their wives... Read review

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Advantages: Something for everyone, breathe-taking scenery, good food.
Disadvantages: Rain.

...the tunnel near Colwyn Bay with the road hugging the coastline. Although this is outside of the National Park its near to the main roads to travel into the park. Visit Conway Castle and the Mountain Zoo, cross the Menai straits into Anglesey. Try Caernarfon a busy town with its own castle as another base there are plenty of caravan/camping sites around here. Or choose Porthmadog with its many cottages, terraced houses and waterfront flats to stay in. If you can afford a hotel or a B&B Betws-y-Coed is a magical place to stay and the best place to be in the heart of Snowdonia, more later. As the mountains dominate the landscape, so the roads have to go through the valleys or the mountain passes so the choice of where to stay or what trips to make are important from the start of your stay. Many places offer discounts on main attractions so it... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful scenery, lovely walks, bacon sarnies, ice cream
Disadvantages: None for me!

...A while ago I said that I would write some reviews about local attractions and places to visit now that I live here in Llandudno. I did a couple at the time but have just got round to doing a couple more. This particular review is about a place that we visit on a regular basis - the reasons will become apparent as you read on - and it is called Beddgelert. Where is it? Beddgelert is located in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is just off the A498 slightly north east of where that road meets the A4085. The postcodes begin LL55 if you want to put that into your satellite navigation system. It is also accessible by bus and the Welsh Highland Railway will extend that far within the next year or so. It is set on the banks of the River Glaslyn which then continues down the Aberglaslyn Pass to join the sea at Porthmadog. Caernarfon... Read review

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Advantages: Beautifully kept village and gardens with chance to buy bargains
Disadvantages: Not Disabled frielndly (through no fault of theirs though)

..."Cherish the Past, Adorn the Present, Construct for the Future." That is the familiy motto of the man responsible for creating the masterpiece that is Portmeirion. Knighted for his services to architecture, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis idea was to create a place that, not being exactly a resting place for ruined buildings, recycled redundant buildings to create a village that went hand in hand with nature, not destroy it. Portmerion epitomises this spirit. The grounds celebrate their 80th anniversay since opening in 2006, plus its 40 years since the most famous programme to use the village took root, The Prisoner. How to get there ----------------------- Firstly, you need to plan carefully how to get there. Located in Gwynedd in North-West mainland Wales, the nearest large place is Porthmadog. There is a Train Station... Read review

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Advantages: plenty to do in Summer
Disadvantages: less to do in Spring or Autumn

...for a small cost (about 20p each). Plenty of shops to visit and very popular in summer with the tourists. 3. We also visited the Llechwedd Slate Caverns at Blaenau Ffestiniog. I would have preferred to do this on another day - we drove up in the Snowdonia mountains and the heavens opened - our driver could hardly see 2 feet in front of the bus so we did not see any of the beauty of the Snowdonia mountains and when we got to these caverns it was very slippery underfoot - so my parents chose not to go down into the caverns themselves and just look around the Victorian village with pub and shops. A wonderful café area. www.Llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk Telephone 01766 830306. 4. Porthmadog - not much here if you don't like shopping (or it is raining, as it was when we went). Great value café opposite Woolworths, and diagonally opposite... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful location and rooms
Disadvantages: Expensive with a capital E

...I'll start by saying that this is definitely, comprehensively the very best hotel I have ever stayed in. I felt rich, rich I tell ya. Everything - setting, room, food, wife was top class and I would recommend it fiercely. Where is it? ********* I'll tell you now. Castell Deudraeth is one of the two hotels in the decidedly weird attraction of Portmeirion. This can be found in the Snowdonia National Park, approximately 5.37miles away from the bustling town of Porthmadog and about 15 miles away from the gorgeous little village of Beddgelert. That's a plug for a review of it's campsite I haven't done yet. It can be approached from the south but I have never gone that way. It is signposted well from Porthmadog. The hotel itself is just by the entrance to Portmeirion village after going down one of those winding roads that you think... Read review

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