Criccieth, Wales

Criccieth is located on Cardigan Bay, a few miles from Porthmadog and also the famous location of Portmeirion, home of the TV series, ‘The Prisoner‘

We were heading to Criccieth for a few days away, having never been before I had seen the interesting coastline images with an overlooking castle, so the camera was packed and loaded with new batteries.

The town itself is located right on the coastline, making it an ideal seaside location for walkers, people after relaxation or travelers using it as a base location to reach out to other destinations.

It’s very much a working town (or large village), not your normal bucket and spade spot. Criccieth centre accommodates for both the locals and visitors, local shops, pubs and a good handful of choices for eating out.

The beach with a castle

The Criccieth Castle mount dominates the view, proudly defending the area, and looking out to sea from it’s prominent position.

Like many castles in the area it lays in ruins, however there is a good proportion of the castle still in tact, enough to image what it was like when fully built and operational.

It’s well worth a walk up the castle hill to take in the magnificent views across the bay and over Criccieth town and shoreline.

Once the sun drops and nightfall hits the town, the castle lights up. Sunset is also a great time to catch some wonderful views of the castle throwing out shadows across the sands.

The main beach which is accessible from the Town (there is another part East of the Castle, Marine beach) swoops around in a typical bay style, the tide comes in a good way, bringing with it a healthy surf when conditions are right. The crashing surf onto the clean sands makes for a wholesome beach feel, wide open spaces, enough to take in plenty of view and beach atmosphere.

The promenade wraps right around, giving a clear walk if you don’t fancy getting sand between your toes. There are numerous B&B’s dotted around the seafront, some that have seen better days, but many that look up to scratch, happily showing fully booked signs on their windows.

If you’re looking for a clean beach with great views, you should add Criccieth Beach to your list of places to visit. Not your typical seaside town, but somewhere in between, which suits many people.

One last point, the main Fish and Chip shop (located on the hill leading up to the castle) has specific opening times (sorry, I’ve forgotten what they are) and gets very busy when open, so get there early or end up queuing out of the door like I did!

Criccieth Beach Tide Times and Swell Information

The Beach Roamer

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