With Christmas celebrations almost upon us the dark nights and cold days will soon give way to thoughts of brighter days and holidays.

If you’re tired of the same old places and looking for a magical experience without the hassle of plane delays and Spanish tummy it’s on our doorstep just across the Irish Sea in the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales.

Hop on a ferry to Holyhead and you’ll find yourself transported to a land crammed with culture, haunted castles, historic sites and breathtaking scenery in a diverse and welcoming landscape.

But if there’s one place you should not miss it’s the magical Portmeirion on the coast of Snowdonia. And it all began when Welshman Clough Williams-Ellis first met Amabel Strachey. Little did they know it would lead to the creation of the famous fantasy village of Portmeiron.

It was at a meeting where he took up the challenge of her father St Loe Strachey, editor and proprietor of ‘The Spectator’, to design affordable housing. Not only did he succeed in doing this but he also won the hand of the fair Amabel whom he married in 1915.

With his architectural practice already established one would think he was set for life. But Clough had a vision. His motto of ‘Cherish the past, Adorn the Present and Construct for the Future’ was about to be put into practice.

Clough Williams-Ellis did just that with his ingenious creation of Portmeiron. Built on a peninsula off the coast of Snowdonia, Clough’s belief that “the development of a naturally beautiful site need not lead to its defilement” drove him to scour the countryside to find the perfect place to create his ideal village.

He found it in 1925 just a few miles from his ancestral home Plas Brondanw. Known then as Aber Ia it was a neglected wilderness but all that was about to change.

He immediately renamed it Portmeiron and drew up plans and models for the development that would result in a visually stunning masterpiece. Clough designed his fantasy village around a central Piazza surrounded by every conceivable style of architecture from a neoclassical colonnade to a Jacobean Hall.

When you first enter Portmeiron you wonder whether you are in Italy or Wales. The yellow, turquoise, pink and ochre pastel painted terracotta-roofed houses, each with its own name, give a magical mix of Mediterranean and Eastern promise.

Set among seventy acres of sub-tropical woodland and landscaped gardens bell towers, gazebos, domes, colonnades and porticos, all with a place here, blending together to create what must be one of the most unusual places in the British Isles.

I was surprised to find at every turn new treasures such as Hercules’s Statue beside the Bandstand or the gilted Buddha which Clough salvaged from the film ‘The Inn of the Seventh Happiness’ starring Ingrid Bergman, which was shot in Portmeirion in the late fifties.

In 1926 after less than a year’s preparation and with little altered about the old house Clough opened the Hotel to the public, which attracted a celebrated clientele such as H. G. Wells, Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw and Sir Kenneth Clarke. Unfortunately the hotel was gutted by fire in 1981 but has now been restored to its former splendour.

Its new-look bar and dining room was designed by Sir Terence Conran. With its beautiful setting overlooking the private peninsula, the enchanting atmosphere of the Hotel will make you want to go back again and again.

It is no surprise that when Patrick McGoohan first clapped eyes on Portmeiron he knew it would make the perfect location for his 1960s British cult television series ‘The Prisoner’. He persuaded Clough to allow him to use Portmeirion, with its mix of architectural diversity, knowing it would add to the lasting effect in the viewers’ memory.

Last August, celebrations of Patrick McGoohan, Danger Man and the Prisoner gave an opportunity for fans to hear the stories about the making of the series from the only surviving director Peter Graham Scott, along with other editors who worked on the filming at the time.

Part of Portmeiron is the contemporary-styled Castell Deudraeth, which Clough bought from his uncle, Sir Osmond Williams in 1931. It was transformed from an eighteenth-century cottage to a Victorian castellated mansion. Its Gothic and Tudor architectural features give a sense of the historic that includes past occupants such as the first Liberal M.P. David Williams and the Oppenheimer family.

Contemporary design and 21st century technology blend together with traditional materials of Welsh oak and slate that offer a unique, modern and classy look that are part of Castell Deudraeth. The old combined with the new blend together perfectly.

Clough finished the village in 1976 when he was 93 years old. This magnificent venture has survived him and stands today as a testament to his dedication and foresight in his battle against the destruction of natural beauty being sacrificed for development. Portmeiron is a hidden jewel in the crown that is a secret waiting to be shared.

For more information consult the Portmeiron website: www.portmeiron-village.com or Telephone: 0044 1766770000.

From top: Portmeiron from above; the Portmeirion Hotel with camera obscura at extreme end and Patrick McGoohan who played ‘Number 6’ in‘The Prisoner’.