"Criccieth is surely one of the most attractive of Wales' seaside towns. On a hot summer's day when I visited it seemed an ideal family spot with its lovely beaches and perhaps least intimidating castle in the country, that of Llewellyn The Great.

It is beautifully set looking across the estuary and Cardigan Bay towards Glyndwr's Castle at Harlech. It has a friendly village-like character with its shops pubs and cafes, colourful and flower-clad.

Many of the houses are made from the large scale stones so typical of north Wales which seem so strangley attractive to those of us from other parts of the country. All this and Cadwalader's ice cream parlour!

Here too I was reminded of two great Welshmen. Lloyd George, of course, always associated with Criccieth with his childhood home nearby at Llanystumdwy, but visiting this I felt the presence of Wales' greatest 20th Century architect, Clough Williams Ellis."

An introduction to Criccieth and its tourism trade

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