North Cornwall - Tintagel
Here
is a quick tour of the Tintagel area, starting with a view of
the Old Post Office, on Fore Street. This is originally a 600 year
old Cornish Longhouse looked after by
the National Trust and worth
a visit, along with King Arthur's Great Halls of Chivalry also in Fore
street. This is a fascinating building with some stunning stained glass
windows.
 Tintagel
Castle is partly set on Castle island and part on the mainland,
with
a connecting bridge. There are lots of steep steps on both sides, but
worth
the climb to see what remains after much has fallen into the sea.
This is a view from the church to the Castle island
Of
course, the castle has been linked to the legend of King Arthur
and his Knights of the Round Table since the early 12th century.
The English
Heritage who run the castle, have a visitor centre with a wealth
of information and stories.
On the cliffs just outside the village is the Norman
Church of St Materiana.
The present building was founded in the year 1080.....6 years before
the Doomsday Book! Before that, the site has been used in Celtic
days and then by Saxons - so this spot has been used continually
for 1400 years..
An
unbroken record of the vicars is on the wall just inside the
door, right up to the present day.
A short distance further on from the church can
be found the Youth Hostel, clinging precariously to the
edge of the cliffs, with a fantastic view across the sea to Port
Issac and beyond to the rocks off the river Camel estuary.
Beneath
the Youth Hostel, the waves pound the base of the cliffs with
tremendous force, and though they cannot be seen from above,
there are some huge caverns in the side of the cliffs which
can only be explored on the calmest of days.
To the northern side of Tintagel is Bossiney and
Bossiney beach, also known as Bossiney Haven or Bossiney Cove.
The beach is accessed by a walk across the fields and a fairly
steep path down the cliffs.
Mouseover to see two views
On spring tides, the beach is quite large and extends round a rocky outcrop
into the next little beach, Benoeth beach. When the surf is too large
at Trebarwith, sometimes the local surfers can be found here as it's
more sheltered, depending on the wave direction etc.
A few hundred yards further north from Bossiney
beach is a small river outlet called Rocky Valley. This is
partly owned by the National Trust, and there is a pathway up
the valley.
Mouseover for two views of Rocky Valley
The observant visitor to Rocky Valley can see
an ancient maze carved into the face of a rock dating back thousands
of years.
Mouseover to see the plaque
with information on it about the carvings.
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