A trip to Criccieth Castle.
Criccieth is a seaside resort 5 miles west of Portmadoc, on the Cardigan Bay shore of the Lleyn Peninsula.
Criccieth Castle dominates the town, standing on a rock overlooking the bay. Little survives of the original building, but the outer defences are still prominent. The inner bailey contains the earliest remains, including the inner gatehouse and two towers. It was built around 1230, and became one of the ring of castles surrounding Edward I's conquered territories. The township developed to support the garrison at the castle. After the French fleet in the Irish Sea stopped supplies getting through to the castle it fell in 1404, and was sacked and its walls were torn down. The castle and town were burned. The castle was never reoccupied, while the town became a small backwater. The town expanded again in the 19th century with the coming of new transport links, and developed into a Victorian seaside resort.