Known as Portmadoc until 1974, Porthmadog is
a busy little town situated on the Glaslyn Estuary on the edge of the
Snowdonia National Park and the Llyn Peninsula. Most of the town is built
upon land reclaimed from the sea by William Madocks, and this led to
the town's name, which translates from the Welsh into "Madog's Port".
The history of the town revolves around the harbour, the slate trade and
the Ffestiniog Railway. For many 
years
the town's prosperity owed much to the slate trade which exported roofing
slate all over the world from the harbour at Porthmadog. The Ffestiniog
Railway ( originally horse drawn ) opened for freight traffic in 1836 and
transported the slate from source at Blaenau
Ffestiniog to harbour via a 21km journey through meadows, woodlands,
lakes and waterfalls within what is now the Snowdonia National Park. But
the commercial future of Porthmadog as a harbour began to decline with the
arrival of the Cambrian Railway in 1867, offering an alternative means of
transport to the growing industrial towns in England. The last of the fleet
of ships had disappeared by 1945 ending with it an important chapter in
the history of the town. At about the same time, the Ffestiniog Railway
closed down, and things looked bleak for a short while.
However the value of the railway purely as a tourist attraction and means
of passenger transport was recognised before it was too late and it was
rescued by dedicated railway enthusiasts from dereliction. By the 21st
century Porthmadog had become an increasingly popular holiday destination
and today the Ffestiniog Railway carries hundreds of thousands of visitors
each year.
Indeed in 2005 the Welsh Highland Railway, has received grant aid from
the Welsh Assembly Government to reopen the other, short lived, narrow
gauge railway that originally provided a railway link from Porthmadog all
the way to Caernarfon.
Attractions
in the town include a modern Leisure Centre, a small Maritime Museum,
the Brynkir Woolen Mill in Garndolbenmaen,
Portmeirion Italianate Village, Plas Brondanw at Carreg Llanfrothen, and
for the more adventurous The
Ropeworks is a new attraction at Greenacres Holiday Park.
And Porthmadog can soon bost not one but three heritage railways:
the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway within the town; the
Ffestiniog Railway that travels from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog;
and the soon to be completed Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarvon) which
as its names suggests will travel from Porthmadog to Caernarfon.
Two miles away in Morfa Bychan is Black Rock Sands, a popular wide sandy
beach with a rocky headland at the western end of the beach and a backdrop
of sand dunes that are a site of special scientific interest. When
the tide recedes you can explore the rock pools, exposed caverns and
multi coloured rock face ( the rocks are not black ! ).
There is a wide variety of small, locally owned shops and restaurants
in Portmadoc, from book-shops and antique shops to music shops, where
you can find almost everything you need. At www.walesdirectory.co.uk
you are able to find the top attractions in Wales and then make an instant
online room reservation close to the attraction.
