But back to more pleasant thoughts. Returning to the central Piazza once more, it'd be prudent to note the slapdash approach Ellis had to colour, and that is meant in a good way. From the Trinity building's terracotta finish the multicoloured walls of the various food outlets, Ellis was unafraid to mix and match as he saw fit. He was very fond of the half-and-half approach, with one side of a building drenched in sunshine yellow, the other replete with a chocolate-coloured matte finish. There is plenty of glass-use too, increasing the spectrum of visible colours two-fold. Some of Ellis's structures hark back to the golden age of renaissance Italian architecture, others are unmistakably Victorian. There are even flashes of futuristic brilliance - as a predictor of future trends, Ellis was probably more accurate than he would have thought. Indeed, the cuboid building that accompanies the Anchor Ferris Wheel is positively flat-like, and wouldn't look out of place in any urban city development.

And thus it is that guests are swept down to the bay, complete with calming beach and bobbing buoys. Ellis was brought up by the windswept beaches of the Welsh coast, so it was inevitable that Portmeirion would provide guests with this classic holiday experience. There is a quaint docking area where visitors can visit an old-style hotel, take a walk along the quay and look at the lighthouse perched right on the seafront. This whole area is reminiscent of the atmosphere found at many seaside villages, especially the Sound at Plymouth. Ellis paid every attention to detail when recreating this singularly British atmosphere, in the same manner that he made sure the nearby Palladian villa (now home to the Unicorn family coaster) stayed true to Palladio's original laws of architecture. The slanted colonnades and vaulted arches really resound with the mathematical nature of Palladio's own buildings in the Verona region of Italy.

Once the bay area has been thoroughly explored, guests tend to head further into the recesses of the Village, walking back up to the forests, past waterfalls and cliffs. The Dolphin is a wooden coaster that is perhaps the biggest throwback to the golden age of coasters in the park - the style is very in keeping with the classic nature of the Village, and guests always find the ride very thrilling.