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 another railway the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog) which
takes visitors on the short trip to Pen-y-Mount, 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, Ffestiniog
Railway, Welsh Highland Railway, and many more attractions nearby including
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.
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.
