Wales | Ramblings

Portmeirion of the south: How the most remarkable village in Wales was almost built in New Zealand

October 29, 2021October 29, 2021 pdg 2 Comments Auckland, Coromandel, Hauraki Gulf, Nant Gwynant, Pakatoa, Paku, Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, Portmeirion, Snowdonia National Park, Wales

Village’s creator had a “serious flirtation” with an island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf before choosing a bay near his home in Wales instead.

Europe

North Wales in 48-and-a-bit hours

May 12, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Anglesey Island, Caernarfon, Conwy, Llanberis, Llandudno, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Mt Snowdon, Portmeirion, Tre’r Ceiri, Wales

In just over two days the author stumbles over more castles than he can count, a very small house, a very long place name, some of the best scenery in Britain, and an astonishing 5000 years of history.

Europe

No ordinary hole

May 11, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Big Pit, Blaenafon, National Mining Museum, Newport, Wales

The birthplace of the Industrial Revolution is more than slag heaps and old coal mines.

Europe New Zealand

Following in Sir Ed’s footsteps

May 7, 2018September 19, 2020 pdg 0 Comments Edmund Hillary, Mt Everest, Pen-y-Gwryd, Snowdonia, Wales

When inclement weather stopped the great Sir Edmund Hillary training for Everest on the peaks of Snowdonia National Park, he’d practice on a stack of chairs in a Welsh pub instead.