portmeirion Archives - Blasdale Home

Portmeirion in Winter

Posted on November 13, 2023 by SteveJanuary 7, 2024

13th November 2023

We embarked on another winter adventure, returning to the charming Portmeirion Hotel. The food is delicious, the scenery stunning, and there’s always something new to discover. While I dream of seeing the gardens in bloom or catching a ride on the mountain railway, a winter visit offers its own unique charm.

Our journey began with a quick lunch and “splash and dash” charge (electric vehicle top-up) at Tesco in Welshpool. Next stop: Porthmadog, where we parked at Tesco again for a slower, cheaper than the hotel charge. We explored the town, browsed charity shops, and enjoyed tea and cake at the Portmeirion Kitchen Shop. A visit to the Purple Moose Brewery is definitely on the list for next time!

Reaching the hotel, we checked in at Castell Deudraeth and drove to the residents’ parking. I wanted a full charge for a later outing, which slightly delayed the porter (who doesn’t love an extra task?). To my surprise, I ended up helping other residents who weren’t as prepared with charging apps as I was!

Our room, Neptune 1, felt familiar and comforting – a first for us to stay in the same room twice. That evening, we savoured a fantastic meal at the Portmeirion Hotel.

The next day, we spent the morning wandering the extensive gardens and woods – a full day adventure if you wish. In the evening, we opted for dinner at Castell Deudraeth. A buggy ride sounded tempting, but we chose to walk along the lit pathways. The roaring fire in the foyer and another excellent meal warmed us from the inside out. As we strolled back to our room under a star-studded sky, the silence and peacefulness were blissful. Who says it always rains in Wales? Despite the gloomy forecast, we were blessed with sunshine and barely a drop of rain.

Exploring the surrounding area was our plan for the third day. Blaenau Ffestiniog and Cwmorthin Waterfall were first on the list. But upon arrival, a sea of school buses and excited children convinced us to find a quieter spot. Undeterred, we attempted another waterfall, only to encounter even narrower roads. Zip World and the slate mines, promised as being open on their website, remained frustratingly closed with only a handwritten note on the actual door (several hundred yards from the entrance). Pah!

Seeking sustenance and local charm, we found ourselves at the Lakeside Cafe, bustling with friendly locals and a few tourists. Their delicious soup and bread hit the spot. Apparently, a walk to the waterfalls is possible from here, though parking for the waterfalls was forbidden.

Our afternoon drive was a scenic treat, taking us through Betws-y-Coed (outdoor gear galore!), Capel Curig, Beddgelert, Porthmadog, and back to Portmeirion. The sun peeking through the clouds cast a magical light on the extremely cold landscape.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a final delicious meal before charging the car for the journey home. The drive was uneventful, except for a free charge at a Starbucks in West Bromwich! My card wouldn’t work, and a kind man rescued me from my embarrassment. It turned out he was from IONITY and was maintaining the chargers.

Our winter escape to Portmeirion was a delightful mix of familiar comfort, unexpected challenges, and stunning scenery. It’s a reminder that even the “off-season” holds its own unique beauty and adventures. Until next time, Portmeirion!

Portmeirion Number 5

Posted on November 18, 2022 by SteveDecember 17, 2022

18th November 2022

Our final breakfast at 9.00, and then packed up and the porter ordered, to take our bags back to the car. We had timed this to the T. The weather is now typical wet Welsh weather, pouring with rain. It rained until we were out of Wales. We had planned to stop on the route but decided not to. The inclement weather making it unattractive. The car behaved, and we made it home with plenty of electrons in the battery. A lovely break.

Tomorrow we are off to Cambridge for a Gonville and Caius Feast.

Portmeirion Number 4

Posted on November 17, 2022 by SteveDecember 17, 2022

17th November 2022

Our final day here in the village. A walk around the village and up to Castell Deudraeth and back. Visited areas of the village we had not looked at this week. Today we saw a couple of humans swimming in front of the hotel against the incoming tide. A bit chilly I would speculate, rather them than me. Tonight, I put the car on charge around teatime and watched some more episodes from The Prisoner over our G&Ts. 7pm soon came around so we decamped to the hotel, but this time for the tasting menu. Very good meal. It had two options, meat, and vegetarian. In the main, most of the courses were the same, except when there was meat for which a veggie alternative was served. I had meat, and Rosemary had the vegetarian, which included fish courses. We also added an excellent cheese course to the meal.

After dinner, the car was Fully Charged, so it was unplugged ready for the morning. We were stuffed.

Portmeirion Number 3

Posted on November 16, 2022 by SteveDecember 17, 2022

16th November 2022

Another wonderful day, how wrong were the weather forecasts from a week ago. I rushed out before breakfast to take a few pictures during the golden hour. Back in plenty of time for our breakfast at nine. The breakfasts are excellent, a good Welsh/English breakfast, plenty of cereals. juices, pastries, and cooked fish delicacies. R made a mistake (for me) asking for Gluten Free toast for us both. So, my Welsh breakfast arrived without the fried bread, toast, sausage, and black pudding. A bit disappointing. This mistake was not repeated by R.

After breakfast we had our Wednesday Zoom call with the SadGits. We sat outside the hotel in the bright blue sky chatting to our friends across the world. I think we set a trend, when we left there were many others ordering cakes and coffee (not that I was allowed any cake).

Today we walked around the Chinese Lake, admiring the trees and reflections. We also visited the new motor-home camping spot which Portmeirion has built. It was very nice. All pitches have hedges delineating them. All pitches have power. There is even a charger for those coming in an electric camper. It is the price which would put us off. The price does include entry to the village, so maybe they are expecting people to stay only a couple of nights.

Again, we had some G&Ts back in our suite, while watching yet another episode of The Prisoner. At 7 we headed over for our supper.

Portmeirion Number 2

Posted on November 15, 2022 by SteveDecember 17, 2022

15th November 2022

Today was predicted to be a lovely day, so we decided to walk to the furthest point of the woods. We often walk to a bench here and feed a Robin which appears to accompany us through the whole walk. Actually, it is highly likely to be several different Robins who follow for short distances. Due to a miscommunication with R, we headed along the coast path which goes through the Ghost Wood, and then up some steep paths. The path was also very overgrown and not clear. The guidebook we had showed the path but had some lines through the path. Examination indicated the path was closed. We made the bench, going beyond it to where R had not ventured for a long time. No Robin, so no one to share lunch with. There were Oyster Catchers feeding on the sand banks where the tide was coming in. They are very noisy.

The walk back was simpler, taking the route R had wanted, along the stone wall. We were soon back to civilisation.

Back at base for G&Ts, then supper at 7.00, this time a different menu.

Portmeirion Number 1

Posted on November 14, 2022 by SteveDecember 17, 2022

14th November 2022

We were whisked to Portmeirion, the filming location for the TV series The Prisoner, by our stealthy electric car. We had a loo break at a service station on the M54, lovely industrial heritage steam hammer on display in the carpark, next to the Tesla charging station. We continued, stopping again at Oswestry to charge. Not strictly required, because the car was easily capable of getting to Portmeirion. I was unsure of the charging arrangements at our destination, we had not spotted them on a previous visit last year. At Owestry, R visited a charity shop, while I had a coffee at Costa. Back to the car and we set off for the rest of the journey. Not impressed by the charging speed of the InstaVolt in the carpark. It had been slow.

We arrived and checked in at Castell Deudraeth. The check-in was different to the previous years. Portmeirion had decided to try and make the village car free, asking us to check-in outside the village, then park in the residents’ car park, and have us and our luggage transferred by electric vehicle to our village room. This all went swimmingly well, and we were soon in our room. We stayed four nights in the Anchor 2 Suite.

I need not have worried about car charging. The residents’ car park had more than 8 chargers available. They were all 7KWHr chargers, the slow chargers were not an issue because we would only take 7 hours to charge, and we were here for 4 days.

The weather forecast for Portmeirion was dire, but other than a shower (see the rainbow pictures), there was clear sky for the four days.

Our suite was a couple of rooms, nice and warm. We brought some tonics and gin and had a pre-prandial drink before dinner at 7.00pm. One issue with the suite was the squeaky floorboards, our floorboards were not an issue to us, but must have been to the resident below. We were constantly reminded there was someone else above us, their floorboards were constantly squeaking.

We had an excellent meal in the hotel. There appear to be two evening menus. They switch the menu each night. Nice conversations with the two couples on either side of us.

After supper I took the opportunity to do some night-time photography of the village.

Portmeirion Clough Williams Ellis and The Prisoner

Posted on November 25, 2021 by SteveNovember 21, 2022

22nd November 2021 – 25th November 2021

We visited Portmeirion, taking our longest trip to date in the Polestar. En route we stopped at Oswestry to recharge and have a snack. Though we could have made the whole trip to Portmeirion, we would have been empty on arrival. Rapid charging in North Wales seems to be virtually non-existent. The drive was excellent, and we arrived in dry weather. Our four nights and days were fabulous. The weather was mainly dry with bright sunshine, though we did have the odd shower. The bright sun, and recent rain showers made for some dramatic photographs.

As is usual we stayed in a village room (we have yet to stay in the same room twice) and ate breakfast and dinner in the main hotel. Due to Covid restrictions, or was it the time of year, many of the small cafes in the village were closed and we were stuck for lunches.

The dinners in the hotel were excellent, I have pictures of most of our meals. Rosemary missed me eating my last dessert, which must have been frozen with liquid nitrogen. Apparently, I looked like a fire breathing dragon, with jets of water vapour blowing out of my nose.

We did our usual walks around the grounds. One thought confused us, the tour of the tree specimens. We had our guide to the trees but could not make the trees coincide with the guide. Turned out the specimen walk had been changed, and there was a new guide.

Portmeirion Village a weekday break in Wales 2nd – 4th February 2015

Posted on February 4, 2015 by SteveAugust 28, 2018

Rosemary and I travelled to Portmeirion for two nights to stay in one of their village rooms. We had booked a cheap non-refundable bed, breakfast and dinner deal for a pretty reasonable rate. There was a little worry a few days before we left, snow and bad weather had arrived in the north, extending down to the latitudes of northern Wales. As it turned out there was some snow in the higher parts of the Snowdonia, the roads though were clear, well salted and in excellent condition. Buckinghamshire County Council please take note.

We arrived at Portmeirion village, checked in at the hotel and were then shown to our village room, Salutation 2 which was above the main tourist shop, where we settled in. A quick lunch, and then a walk through the woods to the far side that overlooks Porthmadog. There were woodsmen cutting up fallen trees. There seems to have been much damage over the past few years to some of the larger pines on the headland. It started to snow as we headed back to the village, though it was not settling.

That evening we had a very nice evening meal in the Portmeirion Hotel. I started off with pigeon cooked two ways (breast, and the legs confit), and then plaice and to finish pear tart with amaretti ice cream and bubble gum foam. Rosemary started with haddock and deconstructed quiche, then roast pork and celeriac. To finish she had a panacotta with mango sorbet.

Tuesday was a beautiful clear sunny and frosty day. Started the day with a lovely breakfast in the hotel, and then explored the village and woods, beautiful view of Porthmadog and of Snowdon covered with snow. We visited the dog cemetery, the ghost garden and the lakes. Back in the village I ate a bacon butty for lunch, more exploring the village and photographing robins. Masses of robins were following us around looking for food. Ended the daylight with an Welsh whisky ice cream.

In the evening walked to the hotel for G&Ts (Brecon gin, of course) and then dinner. Forgot to mention the meal always started with an amuse bouche, a large spoon with a cube of roasted lamb resting on a puree, and a small glass of soup plus foam. We both started with swordfish, Rosemary went veggie with a butternut and rosemary risotto, while I ate a delicious ox cheek. Desserts were the same as the previous night, R chose sticky toffee pudding with brill bits, while I ate a cherry arctic roll with a foamed white chocolate. Yes they served real ponced food. Brilliant.

Wednesday we both ate a Welsh fry up, and then headed on back home, stopping on the way to take a few more photographs of Snowdon.

Portmeirion, Wales

Posted on May 30, 2004 by SteveAugust 29, 2017

We visited Portmeirion in Wales, with the aim of seeing the Rhododendrons in flower. Excellent weekend, not very bright, but at least it did not rain. Pictures will be on the web in a few weeks.

Week holiday in Wales

Posted on September 18, 2003 by SteveDecember 31, 2020

We have just got back from a holiday to Wales. On Sunday we set off to Wales for our holiday. We spent several nights in B&Bs, a couple of nights in the excellent hotel at Portmeirion. Visited the usual Slate Mines and did a canal cruise. The weather was great, and the food was good. A full report with pictures will appear on the web site in due course.