Thinking of summer nights in Italy again, I can’t resist a glass of Portmeirion rosé by a huge open fire. With chef Mark Threadgill (of Great British Menu fame) at the helm, dinner is a knockout.

3. Spend the day at Portmeirion Village in North Wales 4. Visiting Lindisfarne & the Farne Islands in Northumbria 5. Walking the Seven Sisters coast path in East Sussex 6.

Portmeirion was developed in two phases, 1926-39 and 1954-72, the break a result of William-Ellis's wartime service. He first acquired the site of the existing village, then the land beyond it ...