Portmeirion is one of the wonders of Wales. This colourful
Italianate village, established on the Welsh coast by the
extraordinary-and eccentric-self-taught architect, Sir Clough
Williams-Ellis, demonstrates the force of his belief that beauty is
a "strange necessity". That Strange Necessity offers a visual and
poetic tribute to his creation, a place of pilgrimage for all who
care about the quality of the relationship between the built and
natural environment. On a smaller scale, Portmeirion deserves to be
set beside cities like Bath, Oxford--even Venice--for its
successful harmonisation of form and function.Designed as a series
of seven walks across and around the village and radiating out into
the wild garden to the west of Portmeirion, this book portrays in
paint and verse the buildings, monuments and sights that comprise
its strange integrity and strong attraction for all who 'have eyes
to see'.The Introduction provides a concise history of
Portmeirion--from pre-historic times to the present day--and a
short account of the life of its architect, together with an
explanation of the design of the seven walks, the choice of sights,
and the inspiration that shaped the poems and pictures. Maps make
it easy for visitors to follow the walks and find their way around
the village and the wilderness beyond.The first sequence of poems
and paintings leads the reader (and visitor) down the main street
of Portmeirion to the sea, passing the Bristol Colonnade, the
Piazza and Telford's Tower before reaching Portmeirion's Hotel at
the water's edge. The second moves back up the hill through the
Piazza and past the Town Hall, Hercules Statue, and the Bell Tower
to the Belvedere. The third walk follows the coastal path from the
Cliff House past the Grotto and the Viewpoint to the estuary and
the Stone Boat. The fourth and fifth walks follow Portmeirion's
'Coastal Walk' and "Woodland Walk" through the wild garden called Y
Gwyllt, past White Horses, the Lighthouse and the Chinese Lake; and
the Children's Playground, the Stone Temple and the Dogs' Cemetery.
Braver souls may explore the deeper wilderness by following Walk
Six and discovering the Beach, the Ghost Garden and the Ferryman's
Cottage, before returning to the village and re-ascending the hill
on the seventh walk from the Triumphal Arch past Chantry Row to the
picturesque Toilets near the Car Park.In words and images That
Strange Necessity offers visions of Portmeirion, a place created in
the twentieth century by a visionary architect, but which now seems
timeless in its beauty, endlessly fascinating, and inspiring to all
who visit it.
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