Cornwall - Tintagel, Doc Martin more!

Friday September 20, we packed up and left Changford and headed west to Tintagel Castle on Cornwall's rugged north coast.

Tintagel Castle has always been linked with the legend of King Arthur, and for centuries this dramatic castle and coastline has been the inspiration for writers and artists.   It is built half on the mainland and half on a jagged headland projecting into the Cornish sea.  Tintagel Castle is one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain. Its association with King Arthur makes it also one of the most famous.  The following descriptions of Tintagel, I took from their website.  

Stories of King Arthur have been swirling around since the Romans left England after 400BC.  From about the 5th to the 7th century AD it was an important stronghold, and probably a residence of rulers of Cornwall.  Many fragments of luxury pottery imported from the Mediterranean were left behind by those who lived here.

It was probably memories of this seat of Cornish kings that inspired the 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth to name it in his History of the Kings of Britain as the place where King Arthur was conceived, with the help of Merlin. At the same time, Cornish and Breton writers linked the love story of Tristan and Iseult with Tintagel.

In turn, these associations with legend led the hugely rich and ambitious Richard, Earl of Cornwall, to build a castle here in the 1230s. The site was of no military value – legend alone seems to have inspired him to build here. And long after the castle had fallen into decay, its mythical associations kept the interest in Tintagel alive. It was kept repair until 1387, but then fell into disrepair.  

It was a super windy day while we explored these ruins, and when we asked, the workers told us about 10mph more, they close the site. I would have been nervous that dogs and small children could be swept away.  There were few railings and we were allowed to wander in and around to wherever we wanted.  

Look at this dramatic coastline!  The castle site was at the very top of the bluff you can see below.  

Then there was a bridge to the headland that was steep and imposing. 

Sorry, if I bore with the pictures, I could have looked at the views all day.  The first picture below is from the bridge. The second is looking down on the beach that they would have had to land on.  It was a LONG way down.   The 3rd one, I took in one of the ruins-I just liked it. 

Looking at the north shore from the castle, you can see caves down below at the coastline.  Think Merlin. 

The place was in ruins, so many places there were only the walls outlining the rooms that once were in this very large castle. I mean, thy stopped repairing it over 630 years ago, and the weather on this coastline can be brutal. 

I mean, we thought it a bit strenuous when we had to go up and down steep hills just to cross that bridge to get to the site.   These 140 steep steps were our only way out of the castle!  

The. One last look at the beautiful beach below the castle and we headed out - up another very very steep hill!  Rick Steve’s trips are not for the faint of heart!  

Next we headed to headed to Port Isaac  which is Portwenn on the British TV series Doc Martin.   Many many shows are filmed in Cornwall because of the absolute beauty here.  Some you may have heard of - Die Another Day, a James Bond with Pierce Brosnan;  Ladies in Lavender with Maggie Smith and Dame Judy Denth; the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean; Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None; and of course Poldark - with my fav Aidan Turner.  This house was the one they used for Doc Martin’s surgery.  

The town was a quaint and cute seaside town.  Many of the buildings and scenery were used in the show, but I only watched one season.  I think I will go back and check it out again. 

Then after checking into our hotel in Mawgan Porth, we headed to a country inn for fish n chips and a fun performance by Cornwall men’s singing group, Bryhers Boys.  You may think, why all men?  Well, the tradition started because of the men doing the horrible jobs of tin mining and field work and it was originally songs to honor them. They sang different songs about the area while teaching us about the place that they call their country.  They like to think of themselves like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, rather than just a very large county in England.  Cornwall is known for tin mines, maritime both legit and smuggling, wonderful walks along the rugged coast line and 300-beaches, and their songs were about that.  It was a fun and entertaining evening.  

It 

I didn’t take a picture of her, but there was a little 5 or 6 year old girl in the bar with her mother, sort of behind us, and she danced the whole time - she was adorable.  I guess I had better mention that while this seemed to be a bar, there were many families eating there.   

Tomorrow and Sunday more exploring of Cornwall! Before we head to our final destination- Bath.