Be the Prisoner at Portmeirion – 2025

After a not too early start, we’ll wind our way with regular stops to the mountain passes of Snowdownia to reach Portmeirion on the coast, where we will stay on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis for the duration of the holiday.

Leaving the hotel just before 9:00am, we travel through the mountains to the amazing spring treat that is Bodnant. This is a world-famous garden home to National Collections and Champion Trees, which sits in the foothills of Eryri (Snowdonia). The garden we see today was laid out 150 years ago by industrialist Henry Davis Pochin and was developed further by his descendants.
There is a great deal to see in these glorious gardens including shrub-filled glades, dells and water gardens, Victorian gardens, Edwardian Italianate Terraces, the Georgian-era Old Park and a great deal of garden architecture including the Pin Mill and a Victorian mausoleum. We are visiting when the famous 55-metre-long Laburnum Arch should be in full flower.
On a previous visit, several clients revealed how they had visited previously in the summer but not appreciated how much more beautiful the garden was in the spring.
Moving on from Bodnant after lunch, we’ll run around the coast to Caernarfon Castle and town.
The imposing Caernarfon Castle sits in an incredibly strategic position overlooking the Menai Strait between northwest Wales and Anglesey. It is by far the largest of King Edward I’s stone castles, started in the late 13th century on the site of an earlier 11th century motte-and-bailey wooden structure. After falling into disrepair in Tudor times, the state eventually funded repairs in the 19th century and the site is now managed by Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd’.

Today we will enjoy an awe-inspiring train trip up Wales’ highest mountain, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), starting at the picturesque Llanberis Station and ending at the incredible off-grid visitor centre at the summit: Hafod Eryri. On the journey we will pass waterfalls and gorges, abandoned farms, chapels and medieval settlements. There will be time at the summit to enjoy the view and grab refreshments before the return train.

We depart after breakfast and wind our way back home with regular stops, so we have a comfortable journey, returning in the late afternoon.