Criccieth - Geography

Geography

Criccieth is located in Eifionydd on the Cardigan Bay shore of the Llŷn Peninsula. The town is south facing and built around the rocky outcrop containing Criccieth Castle, which effectively divides the shoreline in two at this point. The East Shore has a sandy beach with a shallow area for bathing, whilst the Marine Beach, to the west, is quieter and has a number of hotels and guest houses.

The rhyolitic headland on which the castle is built is strong and not easily eroded. The cliffs to each side, however, are less resistant, being made up of glacial drift, layers of boulders, stones, clay and silt which were laid down during the last ice age. Sea walls were already in existence at the time of the first Ordnance Survey map in 1891, and the west shore sea wall had been extended and groynes built by 1913. Extensive remedial work was completed in 1965, and the defences were again strengthened in 1974 and 1985. In 1995 work was started on improving the defences along The Esplanade, followed in 1997 by further work to replace the crumbling gabions below Lôn Felin. Submerged forests occur in a number of places off the Cardigan Bay coastline, including Criccieth; these are deposits of peat, soil and tree remains, and appear to be post-glacial coastal lagoons and estuaries, which have been flooded by rising sea levels.

The town has a temperate maritime climate which is influenced by the Gulf Stream. Frost and snow are rare; the last serious snowfall, of 6 inches (15 cm), was in 1985. The climate results in a luscious, green countryside and many delicate plant species grow wild; gorse flowers throughout the year. One plant unusual to Criccieth is lampranthus roseus, known locally as the Oxenbould Daisy and introduced in the late 19th century by a resident of Min-y-Mor.