In the summer of 1962, I went on a sixth form conference at Coleg Harlech, laid on by the United Nations Association's Council for Education in World Citizenship. It was one of those eye-opening occasions when we were introduced to global thinking about environmental pollution, nuclear disarmament, and the energy crisis, which weren't on the school curriculum at that time. Part of the weekend was a trip to Portmeirion, the purpose built holiday village designed in the italiante style by North Walian architect Clough Williams-Ellis. It was the man himself, in his late eighties who showed us around his creation. I still remember him in his tweed suit, wearing long yellow socks and brogues, the image of an aristocratic countryman, striding uphill, leaving us mining valleys teenagers drawing breath as we attempted to keep up with him.
Clare says I've been promising to take her there ever since we met, but over the years, until recently our trips to North Wales have been few and far between. With Owain also curious about Portmeirion, there was no excuse for further delay, and fortunately the weather turned out more favourably than the forecasts of the day proposed. It was hard to believe that it's fifty years since I was last there. My memories of Clough Williams-Ellis are clearer than my memories of the original tour, and are influenced by having watched the cult TV series 'The Prisoner' back in the seventies. Portmeirion was the film set for the series, and for scenes in the movie 'Inn of the Sixth Happiness'. There have been many developments and detail changes to the village over the years. The place looks familiar, yet retains a visual freshness, due to ever changing green landscaped settings and ornate gardens.
It's a very photogenic place, (I took nearly a hundred photos) which looks interesting and beautiful from every angle, very much a tribute to the architect's imagination. He was right in his conviction that his village could be laid out in a way that would minimise environmental impact on an area of outstanding natural beauty. Portmeirion has no permanent residents, but all its buildings, apart from shops and restaurants, are equipped and used as holiday cottages. It was Clough Williams-Ellis' wish that as many people as possible got the chance to spend quality leisure time appreciating the endeavours of his creative imagination. Over his long life time, he acquired art works, buildings, furnishings from places being demolished. Some donors knew what he was looking for, as he modelled his village on Portofino in the Genovese riviera. Sometimes unusual donations challenged him to create a place for them in his grand scheme, like the Buddha statue rescued from the film set of the 'Inn of the Sixth Happiness'.
We lunched at Caffi Glas, just opposite the main gift shop. It's an Italian cafe restaurant opened only five years ago, and I ate the best pizza I have tasted in decades, with a crisp pastry base, just right for a light lunch. Needless to say, it was very busy with customers. By the time we'd eaten, the tide had turned. The estuary waters fast receded to reveal golden sands where the sea had recently lapped up against the quay with its monumental built in boat outside the Portmeirion Hotel. We stopped there for a luxurious post-prandial pot of coffee, after a soggy stroll along the strand to get a different perspective on the village above. Showers of rain were few and far between. Not even the dull overcast sky could much dim the colour of Portmeirion's townscape.
Portmeirion is unashamedly a stylish original theme park holiday village. Nothing is quite what it appears to be from architectural convention. There's a campanile, clock bells ring out from it, but it's not attached either to a town hall or a church building. Visitors don't need recourse to religion or government while they are here. A place that looks like a civic building is in fact a restaurant. What looks like a grand mansion is but a humble two bedroomed apartment. Some windows are skilfully painted on to buildings - 'trompe d'oeuil' confections. It's not deceit, but a series of devices to please the eye and stimulate the imagination. In every sense what's been created is an environment for recreation, which plays differently with its natural setting than do the slate mining villages of the surrounding hills and valleys.
It does this far better than any other theme park or holiday village I have yet to discover, perhaps because it is chiefly the offering of one creative mind for any open to receive, rather than a committee of designers who think they can exploit for gain the desires and ambitions of their target clients.
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