Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Gwynedd

At first glance - certainly on a somewhat rainy gray day - the hard gray stone houses of Beddgelert do not look too inviting. But walking around and seeing all the blooming flowers the village became more and more picturesque. Beddgelert (meaning “the grave of Gelert”) is probably named after an early christian missionary and leader called Celert (or Cilert), who settled here early in the 8th century. The earliest record of Beddgelert appears on a document dated 1258 (the name recorded is "Bekelert"); eleven years later it is recorded as "Bedkelerd". Beddgelert lies in a valley at the confluence of the River Glaslyn and River Colwyn. Just above the confluence of the rivers, in the centre of the village, is the old stone bridge with two arches. It is hard to imagine, but the village once was a busy port, when the river was tidal and ships sailed all the way to the centre of Beddgelert.

Caernarfon Castle is probably the most impressive and famous of the many Welsh castles. The site of the castle wasn’t chosen by accident. It had previously been the location of a Norman motte and bailey castle and before that a Roman fort stood nearby. King Edward I started the construction of the castle in 1283, being part of city walls of medieval Caernarfon. It was not only a military stronghold, but also a seat of government and a royal palace. Standing at the mouth of the Seiont river, the fortress with its towers, battlements and colour banded masonry still dominates the walled town, also founded by Edward I. Edwards son was born in Caernarfon Castle. In 1301 he became the recreated title of Prince of Wales and it was the first time the eldest son of the King of England was invested as Prince of Wales. In 1969 the castle gained worldwide fame as the setting for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. In 1986, Caernarfon was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as part of the "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd

Borth-Y-Gest wit hits Victorian houses is built in a shallow bowl around a sheltered bay on the edge of the River Glaslyn with a horseshoe shaped promenade. The village is dominated by the harbour, where a number of small boats are moored. The village was a busy shipbuilding centre before Porthmadog was established. The so called ‘pilot houses’ were built at the mouth of the harbour, so pilots could keep a watch for ships needing them. In the past Bort-Y-Gest was starting point for the crossing over the dangerous Glaslyn estuary.

Portmeirion is a coastal resort on a peninsula in North Wales with hotels, cafe and tearoom, restaurants, shops and self catering cottages. Situated in the heart of Snowdonia it is overlooking the stunning coastal scenery of the estuary of the River Dwyryd. Portmeirion was created by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976. He wanted to show how a naturally beautiful site could be developed without spoiling it. Clough Williams-Ellis had conceived of a tightly grouped coastal village on some romantic clifftop site, perhaps on an island or a remote estuary. This idea stayed with him for about 20 years until in 1925 he found the Aber Iâ estate on the Dwyryd estuary near his home. He did not feel Aber Iâ was appropriate as it could mean 'frozen river mouth', which was not ideal for a holiday resort. He changed the change the name to Portmeirion: ‘port’ to put it on the coast. and 'meirion' the correct spelling of Merioneth, the county in which it was located. The Italian-like village of Portmeirion was built in two stages, from 1925 to 1939 and then once post war building restrictions had been lifted, from 1954 to 1976. Today Portmeirion is owned by a charitable trust and can be visited on payment of an admission fee.