Criccieth Community Day: Juggling, Gardens and a Little Wooden Train

A couple of Saturdays ago, I took the train up the coast to Criccieth with a new Cambrian Railway Partnership pop-up banner, a pocket of freebies and a big smile. The five-minute walk from the station to Criccieth Memorial Hall felt like a gentle warm-up for a day full of colour, conversation and building community relationships. Catrin the Town Clerk had my table ready by the entrance and welcomed me as I arrived for Criccieth’s Community Day.

In the centre of the hall, Circo Arts ran an energetic circus skills session where children practised spinning plates, juggling and balancing; two performers on stilts drifted through the crowd like colourful sentinels. Watching children’s faces light up as they mastered a new trick was a joy. The central activity pulled the event together and gave families a reason to stay, explore every stall and meet local groups.

Stalls from local community groups ringed the room and families drifted between them, pausing to chat, discover and try things out. A refreshments stand in the corner kept people fuelled as they enjoyed catching up with friends.

My conversations with Criccieth in Bloom and other gardening enthusiasts ranged from bee-keeping to the local mushroom gardens. The sense that green, edible and pollinator-friendly spaces are on the horizon is exciting and full of potential.

The Chair of the Council explained the new Community Plan 2025 -30 and its ambitions for the town. A short presentation drew a crowd and showed how local planning and creativity are joining forces.

My new pop-up banner, with the updated map caught people’s eyes. A few visitors enjoyed comparing the old and new maps I’d brought and it made for a great ice-breaker about history, place and the railways that connect us.

Meeting representatives from two recipients of our Railway 200 Community Grant Fund — Criccieth in Bloom and Crefftwyr Cricieth Criccieth Crafters — was a highlight. Putting faces to names helps turn a line on a spreadsheet into real, local stories. Both groups showed ambition and imagination: garden plans, craft projects and community activities that knit local people together. The Men’s Shed are building the wooden train, then the crafters are taking. The conversations about station interpretation boards are concrete examples of what the Railway 200 und is helping to start.

I thanked Catrin before I left and told her I’ll be back — the community gardens are an invitation I can’t resist. The wooden train project is in its early stages of creation, Criccieth in Bloom are full of practical ideas and the crafters are ready to get hands-on. These are projects that will grow through seasons of volunteer time, local expertise and small, strategic support.