| | | Gwynned is dominated by the vastness of Snowdonia but there's so much more to do here. |
| One of the most unusual places to make escape to is Portmerion, an intriguing Italian style village purposely built by eccentric architect Clough William Ellis from 1925 until 1975. |
| The site, which includes a hotel, cottages available for let, restaurants and more than 40 buildings , nestles on a private peninsula on the coast of Snowdonia and really is an experience not to be missed. |
| Cult television fans will instantly recognise Portmerion as the setting for the cult 1960s television series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. Only 17 epsiodes of the series were made and not surprisingly the village has a feast of Prisoner memoriabilia to buy. |
| The famous Portmerion Pottery was actually established by Clough William Ellis' daughter Susan and the distinctive Botanic Garden design can be seen as well as new creations. |
| Gwynned is also home to one of Wales best known castles - Caernarfon - where Prince Charles was given the title Prince of Wales. |
| Built in 1283, the castle was another of Edward I's creations but intended as a place to hold government and as a royal palace as well as a powerful symbol of England in Wales. |
| The area also has a couple of narrow gauge steam railways which used to carry slate but nowadays take tourists between the small towns through scenic countryside. |
Seek out the Ffestiniog Railway which runs from operates from Portmadog
along a 13-mile route to Blaenau Ffestiniog or the West Highland Railway which runs from Caernarfon to Dinas and it's hoped will eventually run 25 miles through Snowdonia National Park. |
It's a great way to take in the scenery without getting out of puff! |
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