Sights in Porthmadog
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Rheilffordd Ffestiniog Railway
The Rheilffordd Ffestiniog Railway is a fantastic, twisting and precipitous 13.5-mile narrow-gauge railway that was built between 1832 and 1836 to haul slate down to Porthmadog from the mines at Blaenau Ffestiniog. Horse-drawn wagons were replaced in the 1860s by steam locomotives and the line was opened up as a passenger service. Saved from years of neglect, it is one of Wales' most spectacular and beautiful narrow-gauge journeys. Because it links the Cambrian Coast and Conwy Valley main lines, it also serves as a serious passenger transport option. Nearly all services are steam-hauled. A standard all-day rover ticket offers unlimited travel.
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Welsh Highland Railway
The same company also runs the sibling Welsh Highland Railway from Porthmadog to Pen-y-Mount, and Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu. Extensions to the network to Blaenau Ffestioniog and Porthmadog are planned for completion by 2009 for links to Snowdonia National Park.
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Maritime Museum
Next to the tourist office, the tiny Maritime Museum has a low-key pocket history of the highs and lows of topsail schooners and other sailing ships in a wharf-side slate shed.
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Borth-y-Gest
The best views over the estuary are from Terrace Rd, which becomes Garth Rd above the harbour. At its end a path heads down to Borth-y-Gest, a pretty horseshoe of candy-coloured houses overlooking a sandy bay. At the other end of the crescent the path continues around the cliffs; if you look carefully you should be able to spot Harlech Castle in the distance.
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Portmeirion
Set on its own tranquil peninsula reaching into the estuary, Portmeirion is an oddball, gingerbread collection of buildings with a heavy Italian influence, masterminded by the Welsh architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. Starting in 1926, Clough collected bits and pieces from disintegrating stately mansions to create this weird and wonderful seaside utopia over the course of 50 years. When it was deemed to be finished in 1976, Clough had reached the ripe old age of 90 and had designed and built many of the structures himself. Today the buildings are all listed and the site is a conservation area.
It's really much more like an amusement park or a stage set than an actual vill…
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