draliman on life

On Monday I went for a trip to Tintagel, a little village on the north coast of Cornwall. It’s a tiny place, but boasts more car parks than you could believe. Why, I hear you ask?

I parked in the “Sword in the Stone” car park. Does that give you a clue?

It’s supposedly one of the possible locations of King Arthur’s court, he of “Round Table” fame. I’ve been to Tintagel several times, but this time I coughed up the £6.10 to go onto the castle grounds (owned by English Heritage) for the very first time.

Kastel Dintagel (Cornish) or Tintagel Castle (English!) was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in 1233. It is said that Richard built his castle on this spot to link him forever to King Arthur, who according to legend was conceived and born here.

The phrase “Earl of Cornwall” is interesting in itself – in 1337 Cornwall was promoted to a Duchy (the first in England), and it now has a Duke (Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall).

Anyway, enough of this history/myth/legend! Here are some pictures. The cliff-top part of the castle is actually on an island. You wouldn’t believe the number of very steep steps involved crossing over. I got a good workout 🙂

If you click on any of the pictures, you get a little slideshow thing of larger versions.