View from Tintagel

Everyone was up early this morning packing ready to go. By and large we were out of the house by 9.30 each heading to our respective destinations. We decided to take a last look at the beach at Perranporth before we set off for Tintagel.

En route we stopped at the butchers in St Newlyn East for a couple of freshly cooked pasties for tonight's supper when we got home. We'd had pasties from this shop last September, we were hoping they would be just as good - and they were.

Tintagel is a fascinating place built around the myths and legends of King Arthur. It seems there may well have been a Celtic king of this name but subsequent storytellers have embellished a little bit of fact with a lot of fiction. The location is certainly special and has an air of mystique surrounding it, having being occupied for thousands of years.

The castle in the headland is nothing to do with the legends though, having been built by Richard in the Middle Ages. No doubt there have been defensive structures on this site over the millennia. The theory is that Richard built his castle there because he wanted to be associated with the legendary king. Where better a place to build then?

This shot is at the far north of the headland looking out over the cliffs, taking in the sea and the magnificent sky. A great place to visit and great exercise as there were hundreds of steps to get on and off the headland!

Our journey home was uneventful - we left Tintagel about 3.00pm arriving back in Bearsted at 8.30pm with a half hour stop for tea and a rest. We took the M5, M4 route - a little longer but much more relaxing than the A303 which was so tedious on the way down.