Tintagel Castle and the Legend of King Arthur

 Perched on a high, rocky and jagged headland in North Cornwall stand the ruins of Tintagel Castle. It's location makes it one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain. As far back as the 5th century a prosperous Roman community lived in a village here.  The discovery of Roman coins, pottery shards and other artifacts dating back to that time show that there was a thriving trade across the Mediterranean between Tintagel and Europe.

In the 12th Century Geoffrey de Monmouth wrote about a legendary King Arthur and named Tintagel as the place of Arthur's conception.  The romantic legend captured people's imagination and grew in popularity over time until in 1230 Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the younger brother of Henry III, chose the site to build a castle.  The site had no strategic value, it was more of a vanity project which required him to sell three manor houses to fund the build. Richard hoped that by associating himself with the highly popular legend of King Arthur it would help him gain the trust of the Cornish people. The castle had a brief period of glory but it was short lived so that by 1337, only 107 years later, it was already falling into ruin.

Nowadays the village of Tintagel is set well back from the headland.  Access to the castle ruins is down a long hillside road to a footbridge which carries you high across the beach and valley below.  If you have a fear of heights it would be a challenge to cross but fortunately I don't and the views of sea, beach, caves and the coastline are worth it.

Foot bridge to the castle. Photo by British Heritage

Below: Excellent signage along the way

The castle ruins are largely crumbled away now but there are outlines of rooms, some parts of the outer walls standing and the best part is the ruins of the Great Hall. Helpful signage along the way indicates what was where. The cliffs down to the sea are high and steep and it is a bit nerve wracking to negotiate the path running along the edge to reach the highest point.  My traveling companion, Liz, and I made it to the top but it was quite a hard slog.   On our way up we saw a group of young people sitting right out on the edge of some rocks dangling their feet over a fall of 100s of feet.  No doubt trying for a good social media shot, but it was a really dangerous and stupid thing to do.

Statue of King Arthur  

 After taking in the  spectacular views in all directions it was an easy walk back down from the top and across the bridge and then rather than walk the long way up the access road to our waiting bus we took a handy jeep ride back.  Visitors can take the jeep in both directions if they wish.

The fascination with the legend of King Arthur lives on making Tintagel one of English Heritage's top five attractions with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.  I remember the stories of King Arthur well so thoroughly enjoyed my visit.  Although in the legend he never actually lived in Tintagel there is still an air of romance about the place making it well worth a visit.

Port Isaac or Port Wenn, Cornwall - Completely Charming By Either Name

 One of my main aims for my visit to Cornwall was to see tiny, picturesque, fishing villages because I just love them where ever they are.   On our travels around Cornwall we had visited several (I have written about these in earlier blog posts)  Charming and all as they were I have to admit it was love at first sight when I arrived in Port Isaac and found exactly the Cornish village I'd hoped for.

 

Above and below: views from opposite sides of the bay.  Doc Martin's house centre right and the Large's fictitious restauraunt lower centre (top photo)

Port Isaac dates from the middle ages with the current village centre dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. As a designated conservation area with 90 listed buildings and a population of only 700+ it is a joy to wander its quiet, narrow lanes and alleys.   It has always been a fishing village and still is today with a fish market operating right on the water's edge offering fresh fish, crab and lobster for sale.

Below: The quiet main street in the early morning

            

Our good fortune was to arrive early in the morning when few people were around so we had the streets almost to ourselves.  As a very well known film location - TV  series, Doc Martin, where it goes by the fictitious name of Port Wenn, and the movie, The Fishermen's Friends, one of many, the quaint streets and beauty of the village draws in  location spotters and movie fans.  This has brought fortune to the village but can also be rather tiresome for residents when hordes of tourists arrive clogging up the streets.  Incidentally, The Fishermen's Friends was based on a local group of singers, specialising in sea shanties and who have achieved wide acclaim.

The chemist's in Doc Martin. It is actually an ice cream shop - filming 
took place both inside and out. Moveable shelves easily transformed it for filming

Doc Martin's Aunt's house

Squeezee Belly Lane. In the Guinness Book of
records as the world's narrowest lane. Legend
has it that smugglers used it as an escape route
from the tax man.

Our group spent some time wandering the village admiring the tiny, jumbled, white washed cottages, the fishing harbour and the picturesque cray pots stacked on the beach. Later we gathered at a shop with the delightful name of 'May Contain Nuts' to meet our guide, Mike,  who took us on a walking tour of the village.  He was an excellent guide, who  had worked as an extra on Doc Martin, and who plied us with inside stories and anecdotes from the show all the while pointing out the various film locations. But he also entertained us with fascinating stories from the past about ship wrecks, the brave life boaters of the village, smugglers and fishing. He also took us to places in the village that many tourists miss or overlook.  It was a great tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the village.

Our guide outside Doc Martin's home and surgery.  Inside shots were filmed elsewhere.

Very old building by the boat harbour. 
Deemed architecturally significant

All too soon our visit to Port Isaac came to an end.  I could have stayed there for days. The idea of renting a cottage for a week ( for Doc Martin fans you can rent his house which is now a holiday home) to enjoy the coastal walks and the life of the village would be a dream that is unlikely to come true nevertheless I will always remember my visit very fondly.  Port Isaac is enchanting, the Cornwall of my dreams.

As an aside, tourism both enriches and destroys villages.  A lot of the long term residents are finding many of the cottages are now being bought as holiday homes for people from London and other places.  This pushes the prices up making it hard for the residents and their families to remain in the area. The holiday home owners arrive in huge four wheel drives  which clog up the narrow streets and make life difficult for everyone. As a tourist I tried to do my bit for the local economy by making a few purchases but it is a real dilemma for tourists; do you visit and help the local economy or do you leave the village a bit poorer but more peaceful.  The tyranny of being beautiful, I guess.

If you do visit there are a number of lovely places to eat and some excellent craft shops to explore.