Criccieth is a community and also community on the Llyn peninsula in the Eifionydd location of Gwynedd in Wales. The community exists 5 miles (8 kilometres) west of Porthmadog, 9 miles (14 km) eastern of Pwllheli and also 17 miles (27 km) south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing to 1,753 at the 2011 census. The town is a seaside resort, popular with family members. Destinations include the damages of Criccieth Castle, which have substantial sights over the community and surrounding countryside. Neighboring on Ffordd Castell (Castle Way) is Cadwalader's Ice Cream Parlour, opened in 1927, whilst Stryd Fawr (High Street) has numerous bistro-style restaurants. In the centre lies Y Maes ("The Field", or town square), part of the original medieval town common. The town is kept in mind for its fairs, hung on 23 May and 29 June each year, when great deals of people go to the fairground and the marketplace which spreads out through a number of the streets of the town. Famous people associated with the community include the British head of state, David Lloyd George, who grew up in the close-by town of Llanystumdwy, as well as poet William George. Group Captain Leslie Bonnet, RAF police officer, writer and also originator of the Welsh Harlequin Duck and also his partner Joan Hutt, artist, both lived at Ymwlch simply outside Criccieth from 1949 till their deaths in 1985. Criccieth held the National Eisteddfod in 1975 and in 2003 was given Fairtrade Town condition. It won the Wales in Bloom competition each year from 1999 to 2004. The community styles itself the "Pearl of Wales on the Shores of Snowdonia".