Tintagel was fun. We left Arundel at 12:30ish and Tintagel closed at 5:30. We didn't start out rushed but as we got closer we realized that we were going to be pushing it. England is full of speed cameras which means that speeding just isn't worth it. Unlike cops Speed Cameras are always there and they don't skip cars just because other people are speeding. There's also no way to argue your way out of a speeding ticket since there is visual evidence of your identity when the camera takes a picture. Worst are the average speed zones where they average your speed for the entire section. These are mostly construction zones and they are annoying. I'm quite glad I'll never have to deal with them. The point is that it doesn't pay to speed. If a journey takes five hours it takes five hours.
Tintagel is a place filled with myth and mystery. Connected from an early date with King Arthur it has a strong mythical pedigree. This is the supposed site of his birth and where Uther Pendragon conceived him upon Igraine by appearing as her murdered husband Gorlois through the aid of Merlin. It is basically an island connected to the mainland via a thin spit of land. The island itself is all cliff and cannot be approached on any side. It is basically the perfect defensive position except that it is impossible to sneak supplies in. The cliffs are just as deadly for friends as for enemies.
Arriving at Tintagel after speeding along Cornish country roads we ran to the island. Parking is available in the town but the site is located about half a mile down the hill from there. The hill down is very steep and we half ran/half jogged down it. We made it with only minutes to spare. The man at the desk tried to convince us that we really didn't have time to see it in half an hour but we insisted anyway because our time was so short. We were kind of banking on them not searching the whole island for stragglers before closing which meant we could stay after the official closing time but they were very strict about it and lock the site up at night. So we did the entire thing in 30 minutes.
Tintagel castle consists of two independent buildings. The one on the island was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in 1233. Why he built it is something of a mystery since the site has no real strategic value. While it is impregnable it is too isolated to be of any use except as a place of refuge. It has been suggested that he built it there to take advantage of the Arthurian connection but it seems an awful lot of effort to go to for such little gain. It would explain the apparently archaic style of the castle though. The other part of the castle is another building on the mainland. This was the main fort and is not connected to the island castle by any walls.
The core of the castle is fairly small. Essentially it just blocks off unwanted access from the mainland by placing the castle walls in the way. It is not very big and can never have been a major site.
Continuing on from the castle a path leads up to the top of the hill. There are several acres of land up here protected by the castle at the entrance. This could have held sheep or small gardens which would have helped during a siege. They also had a well with a fresh supply of water. There were also several nice houses and courts for the nobles so that they didn't have to live in the crowded castle.
On the top of the mountain are some older structures which date to the Arthurian era (though there's no proven connection with Arthur, if he even existed). This tunnel dates back to the 6th Century and must have had some role in the fortifications. What it was I don't know because it's not very long. From what I understand the settlement on Tintagel was a royal residence that was occupied occasionally. I've heard it connected with the kingdom of Dumnonia but I've always felt that was further east ending in Devon before it reaches Cornwall. The city of Exeter was originally Isca Dumnoniorum which confirms Devon's connection with the Dumnonii. Anyways, the legendary figure whom it is most likely connected with is King Mark, the uncle of Tristan of Tristan and Isolde. He was supposed to be king of Kernow (Cornwall) and if Tintagel was a royal residence he was likely to have visited here.
On the mainland overlooking the island is the other castle. The walls keep collapsing. This section here used to be the outhouses. Hopefully no one was in them when they fell.
The rather rickety section to the right is part of the castle. It seems hard to believe that it's standing but it is actually the most fortified part of the castle. From up there you get an excellent view of everything that's happening on the island.
In the town of Tintagel there is a recreation of Arthur's Court by a Victorian businessman. This man was the best kind of eccentric, the kind with money and taste, and without the pretensions to reality. This court is pure fantasy and while it is very detailed and well thought out it doesn't forget that it is merely fiction. Many sites like this become hoaxes but this one is charming because it is fictitious. Well worth the visit.
When we got back to the car we had a panic attack. The rear door of the car was open and we thought we'd been robbed. Turns out that the door hadn't been shut properly and the wind must have blown it open. At least that's the best explanation we could come up with for why nothing was missing. There was a very nice pub next to the parking lot and we went there for dinner after wandering around the hills near the castle for about an hour. There was some sort of party going on because there were a number of themed costumes. Arthur's Court was having something special as well because there were a number of people dressed up in cloaks going there as well.
Boscastle
We went to Boscastle since that was where our hostel was but it is very nice and quite worth the visit. On the top of one hill there's the Napoleon Inn and the other has the Waterloo Hotel. I can only assume that they're bitter rivals.
The main feature is the bay. North-western Cornwall seems to have few places for putting boats in since the shore is so rocky and surrounded by cliffs. Boscastle is no exception except that there is a river running into the sea which has created a bay. It's a small little place but nice, and the hostel rates were very reasonable.
Even while new it must have been pretty small. Apparently it was abandoned by the Earls of Cornwall soon after Richard died. A remarkably short and unimportant history for such a famous building.
The stairs up to Tintagel are tricky. There are a lot of them and they are slippery when wet. Chris's main memory of Tintagel is of the large number of stairs.
On the mainland overlooking the island is the other castle. The walls keep collapsing. This section here used to be the outhouses. Hopefully no one was in them when they fell.
When we got back to the car we had a panic attack. The rear door of the car was open and we thought we'd been robbed. Turns out that the door hadn't been shut properly and the wind must have blown it open. At least that's the best explanation we could come up with for why nothing was missing. There was a very nice pub next to the parking lot and we went there for dinner after wandering around the hills near the castle for about an hour. There was some sort of party going on because there were a number of themed costumes. Arthur's Court was having something special as well because there were a number of people dressed up in cloaks going there as well.
Boscastle
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