There are very few places in
Wales that are flat, and
Criccieth in North Wales, near
Porthmadog, is not one of them. Criccieth is the site of an ancient Welsh
castle, but it is far from the most interesting castle in the area: only the gatehouse has walls that still reach above waist height. The castle at nearby
Harlech is far more entertaining, or tourists in search of something bigger may prefer
Caenarfon castle.
The small town is quite well-equipped for its size, and its
guest houses are the domain of families who return year after year. I would advise visitors to avoid the two chip shops in the town, both of which have a
WWII feel to them (in terms of hygiene as well as speed of service), but the three restaurants are quite appealing. I would also recommend a trip along the seafront (Criccieth is a coastal town with a small
beach) to the seafront cafe. The cafe in question is what
American tourists tend to describe as 'quaint'. It looks like the sort of place you see in screen adaptations of
Agatha Christie novels, but once you get in past the twenties exterior, you walk into what could almost be a museum of arcade games through the ages. On the more modern side they have pool tables and a Sega Rally from 1994, but the offerings go back through an
Alien 3 gun game, via a 1989 racing game, all the way to an original
Space Invaders from
Taito, complete with cellophane strips! Trust me, go in there and you will need a
brown paper bag to stop you from hyperventilating.
There is not much more to say about Criccieth as it is not a very large town. It is reachable by train, bus, car, or boat. People wishing to sail in the waters at Criccieth have to register first at the
Porthmadog harbourmaster's office, near the marina.