A Taste of Italy in Wales

A Sunday road trip to Portmeirion

A sunny Sunday, an empty diary and 114 miles of A roads between us and Portmeirion. That sounded like a pretty good excuse to get Enzo out for the day.

Rather than jumping on the M6 and taking the quickest route, Tracy and I decided to make the drive part of the day. We headed out through Blackbrook, Woore and Whitchurch before crossing into Wales.

Portmeirion was our destination, but we were in no hurry to get there. After all, when you've got an F-Type and a full day ahead of you, taking the quickest route rather misses the point.

Taking the scenic route

The further into Wales we travelled, the better the roads became. We passed Rhug Estate, where we stopped for a quick drink and loo break, before continuing west towards Portmeirion.

As we got closer, the landscape started to change. The roads became more mountainous, the views opened up and around seemingly every corner there was another stretch of scenery worth slowing down to appreciate.

At times, it was hard to believe we were still in the UK.

Enzo was in his element too. The F-Type handled every corner effortlessly and felt planted on the road. There was a lovely mix of sweeping sections and tighter bends, and the further we went, the more I was enjoying the drive.

This wasn't about getting anywhere particularly quickly. It was about having a good road in front of us, some fantastic scenery outside the windows and nowhere else we needed to be.

Sometimes you don't need a week away or hundreds of miles of motorway. A sunny Sunday, a Jaguar and the right roads can be more than enough.

A little slice of Italy in Wales

After around two hours and 45 minutes, we arrived at Portmeirion.

We'd seen the pictures, but they don't quite prepare you for seeing the village in the flesh. One minute you're driving through the mountains of North Wales and the next you're walking between colourful Italian-inspired buildings that look like they belong somewhere much further south.

Of course, Portmeirion is also famous as the filming location for the 1960s television series The Prisoner. Even if you've never watched the series, its association with the village is difficult to miss once you're there.

We spent a good few hours exploring, wandering between the buildings and stopping for some lunch along the way. What struck me was just how fascinating and well kept the whole place was. There was something different to look at around every corner.

It was quirky, colourful and unlike anywhere else we'd visited in the UK.

The long way home

Eventually, it was time to find Enzo and head back.

There was no temptation to abandon our route in favour of the motorway. We'd enjoyed the drive out far too much for that, so we simply turned around and did the same 114 miles again.

And that was hardly a hardship.

The roads were just as enjoyable in the opposite direction, Enzo continued to take everything in his stride and we had another couple of hours of Welsh and Shropshire scenery to enjoy before arriving home.

By the end of the day, we'd covered roughly 228 miles and spent around five and a half hours in the car.

On paper, that's quite a lot of driving for lunch and a wander around a village in Wales.

But the miles were more than just a number and, after a day out in Enzo on roads like these, I certainly felt like a free man. 😉