6b: How do I get there? (The Village - The Prisoner)
Description
This article is from the The Prisoner FAQ, by Patrick LoPresti patl@lcs.mit.edu with numerous contributions by others.
6b: How do I get there? (The Village - The Prisoner)
Resign and wait. Alternatively, travel by rail (recommended) or
by car. Either way, the trip is around 260 miles and 6 to 7 hours
from London.
Begin by getting a map. Good quality maps showing both road and
rail routes everywhere are easily and cheaply available in the UK.
Portmeirion is so small that it is unlikely to be shown on any map
at a scale less than three miles to the inch, but Porthmadog
should provide a point to aim at.
To go by rail:
A comprehensive rail timetable for the UK can be bought for GBP6
('the ABC Rail Guide') at newsagents' shops, the 'official' and
much heavier BR timetable for GBP7.00 at stations.
The nearest main railway station to Portmeirion is at Minffordd,
one-and-a-half miles away. It is an easy walk from there.
Alternatively, travel 3 miles further to Porthmadog (a town,
whereas Minffordd is only a village) and take a taxi from the
station; it's about 3 miles from there. All trains shown below to
Minffordd also call at Porthmadog.
[Oops; the next section needs updating. Send me information if
you are motivated... - Pat]
Currently (winter 1993/4), there are six trains a day to and from
Minffordd, except on Sundays, when there is only one. The line
runs from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli, and this is an extract from the
1993/4 timetable (local trains with no connections to further
afield are ignored):
Monday to Saturday | Sunday
(London) 0710 0940 1140 1340 | 0940
(Birmingham) 0655 0925 1152 1404 1558 | 1405
Shrewsbury 0822 1040 1255 1504 1718 | 1612
Minffordd 1202 1427 1559 1810 2028 | 1929
Minffordd 0738 0954 1307 1526 1820 | 1523
Shrewsbury 1046 1259 1723 1937 2127 | 1829
(Birmingham) 1204 1404 1853 2049 2234 | 2007
(London) 1429 1629 2103 2319 0048 | 2310
Trains do not run through from London (hence the parentheses
around the times from there): a change is always needed at
Birmingham or Wolverhampton, then again at Shrewsbury, and usually
again at either Machynlleth or Dovey Junction. The UK railways
being run as a unified system (for the present) means that trains
connect, and you can book through on one ticket.
Sunday travel by train can be difficult, as most engineering work
on the lines is done on this day and the longer the journey the
more likely that the trip will be disrupted by this. The train
times in any case make a Sunday visit difficult, although there
are more trains in the summer.
So from London, a departure at 0710 will get you to Minffordd at
1427, changing at Birmingham and Machynlleth. The 1820 return
train will get you to London at 0048 next day, same changes. So a
day trip from London with around two-and-a-half hours in the
Village is just about possible, though quite hard work. It is more
realistic to see it as part of a two-day trip unless you are in
Wales already.
Current off-peak return fare from London to Minffordd
is UKP 45.00.
A bus runs from Minffordd post office (4 mins. walk from station)
to Portmeirion at 1114 and 1314; return at 1117, 1317, 1500.
(Monday to Saturday only).
To confirm these bus times ring (UK) 0286 679378. To check the
train times ring (UK) 0743 364041.
Portmeirion is just half a mile from Boston Lodge station on the
Ffestiniog railway, a local line with no connections towards
London, which intersects the main line at Minffordd: on arriving
at Minffordd you could check the times of trains on this line
which might save you the walk. (Aside: The Ffestiniog railway
runs old steam trains, which is Porthmadog's biggest claim to fame
among "Prisoner" non-fans.)
To go by car:
Here is the "Preferred" route from Central London to
Penrhyndeudraeth as generated by the computer program Autoroute
V2.02.
Time 4 hrs 48 min. Distance 241 miles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time | |Road |For |Dir|Towards
-----+--------------------------+-------+-----+---+---------------------
00:00|DEPART London (Gt London) |A400 |1/2 m|N |Camden Town
00:02|Turn left onto |A501 |1 m|W |(Marylebone)
00:04|At Marylebone turn off ont|A41 |1/2 m|NW |(St John's Wood)
00:06|At St John's Wood stay on |A41 |1 m|NW |
00:10|At Swiss Cottage stay on t|A41 |4 m|NW |(Cricklewood)
00:20|At Hendon stay on the |A41 |1 m|N |
00:21|Turn off onto |M1 slip|1/4 m|W |(M1 J2)
00:22|At M1 J2 turn off onto |M1 |74 m|N |*Check access*
01:35|At M1 J19 turn off onto |M6 |45 m|W |*Check access*
02:13|At M6 J10A turn off onto |M54 |22 m|W |*Check access*
02:32|Go onto |A5 |12 m|W |
02:55|Turn off onto |A458 |12 m|W |(Middletown)
03:14|At Middletown stay on the |A458 |5 m|W |
03:21|Turn left onto |A483 |1 m|SW |Newtown
03:22|Bear right onto |A458 |1/4 m|W |Welshpool
03:23|At Welshpool stay on the |A458 |16 m|W |(Llanfair Caereinion)
03:45|At Llangadfan stay on the |A458 |11 m|W |(Dinas Mawddwy)
04:00|Turn right onto |A470 |1 m|N |Dolgellau
04:02|At Dinas Mawddwy stay on t|A470 |9 m|NW |Dolgellau
04:16|At Dolgellau stay on the |A470 |2 m|W |Betws Y Coed
04:19|At Llanelltyd stay on the |A470 |14 m|N |Betws Y Coed
04:39|Bear left onto |A487 |2 m|NW |Porthmadog
04:42|At Maentwrog stay on the |A487 |4 m|W |Porthmadog
04:48|ARRIVE Penrhyndeudraeth (G| | | |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
One contributer suggests modifying the above route as follows.
Instead of turning onto the A458, continue on the A5 through Chirk
and Llangollen, then left onto the A494 at Corwen, then onto the
A4212 at Bala which joins the A470 at Trawsfynydd. This alternate
route is more scenic and possibly faster.
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