Photography Home and Away

Harlech Castle, 1 mile north of Murmur-y-Don, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The folly village of Portmeirion with Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) behind, photographed from Ynys, 4 miles north of Murmur-y-Don

Sir Clough Williams Ellis's Italianate folly village of Portmeirion, 9 miles north of Murmur-y-Don

Mister Sloane on the Panorama Walk above the Afon Mawddach, 11 miles south of Murmur-y-Don

Barmouth Bridge is a Grade II* listed single-track wooden railway viaduct across the estuary of the River Mawddach near Barmouth, 10 miles south of Murmur-y-Don

Photography Home and Away

If you search for a place to rent in Harlech it’s very likely that you will be shown a photograph of the great sweeping crescent of Harlech Beach, which has been taken from in front of Murmur-y-Don. Not taken from the property they’re trying to rent, but from our house — which you can rent right here. Imagine waking up to that view every morning.

Everyone wants to show their property in the best light, and at some time in our lives we’ve all pulled the curtain back to find ourselves gazing over the hotel car park and the recycling depôt. That won’t happen at Murmur-y-Don — what we show you on the website is what you’ll get. All the pictures are taken in, of or from the house.

But there’s far more to see in the area than just the beautiful views from our house. So we’ve added a new page showing a few of the local attractions with photographs that are NOT taken from Murmur-y-Don.

There’s Harlech Castle, of course, the world famous UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s just a mile up the road, and you can see it from the house. Nothing like the view you’ll see on this page of course; in fact there’s only one pane in one window at Murmur-y-Don from which you can dimly see one turret of Harlech Castle! So here is a far better image, taken by Gwion Llwyd.

Snowdon of course, now properly named Yr Wyddfa, is always referred to as the highest mountain in England and Wales, just as Mont Blanc is known as the highest mountain in England and France. Here’s a lovely picture of it towering over the fantasy folly village of Portmeirion. You can clearly see Yr Wyddfa from the round window in Murmur-y-Don.

Portmeirion is a must-see when you’re staying in Murmur-y-Don. Inspired by Portofino in Italy, it was built by the local architect Sir Clough Williams Ellis as a home for retired buildings and as a wedding present for his wife Amabel. It is wonderfully garish, although perhaps not quite as gaudy as this promotional photograph shows. Very nearly, though.

Walks in the Eryri National Park, formerly Snowdonia, are inevitably spectacular. One of our new favourites is the Panorama Walk just east of Barmouth, above the Afon Mawddach. Here’s a picture of our golden retriever Mister Sloane enjoying a stick, rather than the view. The National Trust’s very first property is a field above Barmouth, Dinas Oleu, donated to preserve the vista.

And while in Barmouth you can’t miss the Grade II* listed wooden railway viaduct, photographed here by Dom Vacher. You can walk across it, and if you feel like venturing further there’s a flat ten mile walk along the side of the Mawddach to Dolgellau, on an abandoned railway line. Doctor Johnson said there was only one walk which surpassed the views on the walk from Barmouth to Dolgellau, and that was the walk from Dolgellau to Barmouth.