Wales - Portmeirion - The Pantheon through Angel Gates - Clough Williams-Ellis built Portmeirion from 1925 to 1975 on his own private peninsula on the coast of Snowdonia in Wales. He wanted to show that 'the development of a naturally beautiful site need not lead to its defilement'. His lifelong concern was with Architecture, Landscape Design, the protection of Rural Wales and Conservation generally, and he strove at Portmeirion to give his ideas physical expression. He fought for Beauty - "that strange necessity". Portmeirion is owned by a Registered Charity called The Second Portmeirion Foundation. All the cottages in the village are let as part of the Portmeirion Hotel and the village also has several shops and restaurants and is surrounded by the Gwyllt sub-tropical gardens and woodlands and miles of sandy beaches. Portmeirion is open all year round for both staying guests and day visitors alike.