DAY 115 - 116: Tintagel on the Cornish Coast

- September 11, 2018

On the 30th of August I left Bath and took the GWR to Barnstaple where I picked up a rental car. NOT from Hertz I am happy to say. I had booked the smallest, cheapest car and what did they give me? A brand new, diesel BMW. I am already so nervous driving over here without a navigator... I can confirm though that I had 5 incident free days, used the SATNAV, managed the round-abouts ok and did not get lost even once. :)

So, I got the car and hit the road south, down the Cornish coast. First stop Tintagel.... where King Arthur was conceived by deception. (Not sure how you deceive a queen to have sex, but there you go!) Merlin also had a cave there, literally below where the castle teetered on the rocks. Maybe he had something to do with the deception???

I fell in love with this area in 2004 while travelling with Mandie. The landscape, the Atlantic, the magic of the old castle ruins and stone walls. It is just beautiful in Cornwall. Don't talk to me about Cornish Pasties though... can't stand them. Doughy and dry, way too much starch, not enough meat and gravy. Sad, because they also look so cute.

Stayed at the YHA, which is a slate workers cottage run by volunteers (in this case a father and his son who were there for a week). The building is on the edge of the rocks above the Atlantic, amazing views and amazing sunsets.

Sunset from the YHA, Tintagel on the first night.

An old slate worker's cottage, high on the cliffs above the Atlantic.

The car in the middle is my rental.

A brand new, diesel BMW.

Arrival of day two on the Cornish coast.

Walking from the YHA towards Tintagel. I left the car parked where it was and decided to spend the day walking along the SW Coastal Walkway, the Glebe Cliff Way.

Looking back on the path above the YHA.

The Norman church in the distance.

St Materiana, a Norman church that has not been changed much since it was built.

The longer candle in the back is the one I lit for my family, including little "Peach" of whom I had just found out..

Nearing Tintagel

It is a very nice walk...

The first sign of the castle ruin when nearing from the south, walking along the Glebe Way. Clearly the cliff came down at some stage.

Part of the castle ruin. I figured out that you get a much better view if you cross over to the other side in stead of paying the 10 pound to walk around the ruins and of course I did that in 2004 already.

View from up on the cliffs.

Merlin's cave

Yup, good ol' King Arthur.

The castle hotel on the cliffs. Not an old building...

King Arthurs Hall, just a name...

The famous Tintagel Post Office

And off I went again, walking north.

Large pieces of slate forming a gate.

A random piece of machinery.

It was a truly stunning day.

Loved the plants, reminded me of the Western Cape.

A very fandangled gate to let people through and keep animals out.

The new part of Tintagel in the background.

The path is quite high above the Atlantic.

Tintagel and the Castle Hotel in the background.

I know many think I am pretty useless and I will be the first to admit I am not the fittest gal around. BUT.... I do actually get out there and I do the walking thing, some days quite far actually. Mostly I have to take painkillers to do it. But as my doctor said, "Don't stop unless it gets too painful. Take painkillers if you have to." So, here I am, not stopping as best I can.

In this one bay the water had a very different colour from the rest.

Those fields in the distance... that is what Cornwall is known for.

Sheer cliff. I got to this jutty-outy bit around lunchtime and I have noticed that usually at this time of the day, the paths are quiet. I suspect walkers find somewhere to take lunch.... Well, I needed to go, reeeeally needed to go. And I got away with it! :)

When I walked back from the jutty-outy bit, I noticed this deep crack. At some stage, probably during a very stormy night, this is going to give and part of that jutty-outy bit is going to land in the ocean.