I am soaked. It rained for the entire day and today’s excursion was to Tintagel Castle. The castle sits on an island of rock jutting out into the sea. The wind was whipping across the top of the island such that I could not see where I was going as the rain was flying directly in my face. By the end of my walk, I was soaked straight through all of my clothing. Only now am I starting to dry out.

Tintagel Castle is the purported place where King Arthur was conceived. It is also part of the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Several writers have included the location in their tales such that it became a place to see in Victorian times.

In the times after the Romans left England, the island was still connected to the mainland via a land bridge. It is believed that the settlement here was the capital of a powerful Cornish kingdom in the period after the Romans.

The medieval castle was built in the 1200’s by the king’s brother and about 10-20 years after construction the land bridge collapsed due to erosion taking part of the great hall with it. Sections were rebuilt and the site was occupied until the late 1300’s when it was essentially abandoned.

I’m afraid there will not be too many photos as it was just too wet for me to use my camera much today and using the iPhone was difficult as well.

That’s it for the castle. There isn’t much remaining so it requires a little imagination.

After a late breakfast/early lunch to try and dry out some, I headed north to my next lodging for the next couple of evenings.

Lynton is located at the top of a sea cliff. Its sister town, Lynmouth, sits at the bottom of the cliff. The two are connected by a water powered train that goes near vertical and by some very steep paths. The towns definitely cater to tourists as there are even more restaurants, shops and museums than in Mousehole. I wandered around Lynton shortly after arriving and, I have to say, it is a lovely town! The shops are interesting and the restaurants offer a diversity of food. The gardens in front of some of the homes are small but impressive, seeming almost overgrown but in a controlled manner.

I had dinner at my lodging, the Crown Hotel. It was a very short walk to get there.

I hope tomorrow is a drier day!