Visiting Porthmadog harbour and station of the FFestiniog railway. Gwynedd Located on the north western side of Wales, Gwynedd is a perfect place to visit. It is mostly located within Snowdonia National Park, and the Snowdonia mountain ranges and Cambrian Coastline. It offers visitors a wide range of attractions from activity programmes to inspirational cultural and historical places to visit. Porthmadog A harbour town situated on the Glaslyn Estuary, Porthmadog is rich in maritime history and is an excellent base for touring the surrounding area. It has a number craft shops and restaurants. The town was named after WA Maddocks whose ambitious “Cob” embankment scheme led to the town’s name, which translates as “Madog’s Port”. In times gone by, it was a vital, busy shipping port for the international slate trade, brought down from Blaenau Ffestiniog. The maritime history depicts its proud past. Ffestiniog Railway. A 21km trek through meadows, woodlands, lakes and waterfalls within Snowdonia National Park. It was in 1832 that an Act of Parliament allowed the construction of the railway from Porthmadog to near Ffestiniog and opened to freight traffic on April 20th 1836. Powered by horses initially, the first steam locomotives were put in use of October 23rd 1863 at a cost of £1000 for each of the two engines. Passenger services started in 1865 and carried over 100000 passengers per year were for the first three years along with 100000 tons of slate. In the 1880′s the slate …