Pottering around Porthmadog

View from the Cob, Portmadog

One of the largest towns in North West Wales is Porthmadog.  If you have ever been to Pwllelli or Criccieth you would have been through it, and most likely stuck on the Cob or in the main street in the height of summer as it gets busy.

Traffic has been eased considerably by the recently completed by-pass; a massive engineering project, like all road building in North Wales due to the granite hills.

Port has a lovely picturesque harbour and a sailing club.  When I visited, the Regatta was underway and included large sea canoes, cakes and tea plus a few stalls.

There is no shortage of eating places in Port.  Cafe's, delicatessens, fish and chips, pub grub, two Indian restaurants and the Bistro is alive and well in North Wales.  Yr Hen Fecws (The old Bakehouse) is a restaurant with rooms and you will need to book as they serve delicious dinners and lunches.

 Tafarn Pencai, on the harbour, is great for sit down fish and chips and other pub favourites.  The cafe in Portmadog's mini department store, Kerfoots, is always busy as it is popular with locals as well as visitors.


 

It's a great place for gift shopping and the little book shop is a gem.  On a practical level, you can get electrical goods repaired and buy camping gear and hardware.  There's a good fabric and haberdasher's too, along the same road as the Rob Piercy gallery.  Art lovers can purchase original artwork from Rob Piercy's gallery, plus there are more affordable offerings by gifted amateurs in the little Oriel (gallery) in main street.

Cob records has been going as long as I can remember and is well worth a rummage.  On Saturdays now there is a farmers market in the Canolfan Hamdden Glaslyn (Glaslyn leisure centre) where I bought some delicious bread and cheese and was tempted by a large array of smoked goods, cakes, sausages and other wonderful goodies.  A wonderful place to pick up a picnic.

Port is a seaside town surrounded by mountains and it is beautiful.  The Cob causeway overlooks the Glaslyn valley, full when I went after so much rain, it had been a wet summer in Gwynedd.

http://www.porthmadog.co.uk/html/shopping.html

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g616282-Porthmadog_Gwynedd_North_Wales_Wales.html