Porthmadog
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Porthmadog, known locally as Port, is a small coastal town located in Gwynedd, in north-west Wales, traditionally part of Caernarfonshire. It has a population of 4,187 (2001 census).
Porthmadog came into existence after William Maddocks built a long sea wall, called the Cob, to reclaim a large amount of land from the sea for agricultural use.
The town used to be called Portmadoc until 1974, when it was renamed to a Welsh equivalent spelling. It is named after Ynys Madoc (Madoc Island), located in the Glaslyn Estuary, which relates to Madog ap Owain Gwynedd who is said to have been the first european settler of America.
Located on the Irish Sea coast, Porthmadog has a small harbour where ships used to load with slate carried on the many local narrow gauge railways that terminated there. These included the Croesor Tramway Ffestiniog Railway, Gorseddau Tramway, and Welsh Highland Railway.
Today, Porthmadog has a terminus for the Ffestiniog Railway at the south of the town, and a terminus Welsh Highland Railway in the north. Porthmadog also has a station on the main line (Cambrian).
Nearby Porthmadog is Portmeirion, where the 1960s television series The Prisoner was filmed.
Porthmadog hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1987.
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External links
- http://www.porthmadog.com
- Welsh Highland Railway (http://www.whr.co.uk)
- Welsh Highland Railway, Porthmadog Webcams (http://www.webcam.whr.co.uk)cy:Porthmadog