This little harbour town was created early in the 19th century when the local MP William Alexander Maddocks, built the 1 mile long embankment called the Cob across the Glaslyn estuary to reclaim 7,000 acres of land from the river's mud-flats. The town's prosperity was founded on the slate trade; the output from the quarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog was brought to Porthmadog on the narrow-gauge Festiniog Railway and there loaded on to ships for destinations all over the world. Now Porthmadog is a holiday centre for canoeing, sailing, rock-climbing, fishing and horse-riding. But there are still close links with the past. The Ffestiniog Railway has now been reopened all the way to Blaenau Ffestiniog after almost 30 years of patient and ambitious restoration. A pottery has been established in the mill which used to grind the corn for the ships' biscuits in the days of sail, and a maritime museum is housed in an old ketch, the Garlandstone, which used to sail from the port and is now permanently berthed at Oakley No.3 Wharf in the old harbour.