No need to fly off to Italy this summer – take a trip to Portmeirion, a small village nestled along North Wales’ Dwyryd Estuary, and you’ll feel as though you’ve left the UK
Brits yearning for a taste of paradise may be tempted to fly off to far-flung exotics locations – but there’s a hidden gem much closer to home.
Portmeirion, a small village nestled along North Wales’ Dwyryd Estuary, is no typical UK beach location. Set foot here, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d flown to Italy, with the underrated spot boasting an enchanting display of Mediterranean-style buildings, golden sands and quaint little shops.
And the final cherry on top? It hosts some of the nation’s cheapest fish and chips. Typically, tourists shell out a mere £8.57 for this classic meal, with the seaside town ranking third most affordable in the UK below Southwold in Suffolk and Wirral’s New Brighton, according to Capital on Tap.
Portmeirion’s been all the rave online too, with 25-year-old influencer Meera Pankhania among those to fall in love with the picturesque location. “My boyfriend and I were meant to go to Portugal that weekend but as it went on Amber list, we visited here as an alternative and then climbed Mount Snowdon,” she said in a previous TikTok, as per The Mirror.
“We stayed there for two days and while I’ve never visited Italy myself, I felt like I was in Lake Como. To arrive at the place, you travel through some beautiful roads and beautiful scenery.”
The breath-taking village in Gwynedd was the brainchild of architect Clough Williams-Ellis, who dedicated 50 years to perfecting the site after acquiring the land in 1925. Today, it’s home to an extensive collection of nationally important listed buildings, including its Grade I Listed Portmeirion Town Hall, erected in 1938.
However, you may be surprised to know that Portmeirion doesn’t have any permanent residents as it’s primarily geared around tourism and holidaymakers. Believe it or not, the village even has opening and closing times, welcoming visitors between 9.30am and 5.30pm seven days a week, except Christmas and Boxing Day.
Aside from its impressive infrastructure and unbelievable chippy prices, tourists also sing praises about Portmeirion’s afternoon teas too. In June of this year, one visitor took to TripAdvisor to share their thoughts on this, writing: “The best afternoon tea in the world, in the one of the nicest places. The village is stunning and we really made the most of it, being amongst the last to leave.
“We had afternoon tea in the hotel, which was absolutely delicious.” Meanwhile, another added: “There is no other place in England like this, it is so SO unique and amazing.
“If you only visit ONE place before you die, hopefully not just yet! then come here. It is SO lovely! We spent hours here, we did have afternoon tea here and if the weather had been better and we could have gone on the coastal and woodland walks, we would happily have stayed from opening to closing time.”
So, for those on the hunt for a cost-effective beach getaway this summer, Portmeirion is perhaps the place to be.
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