28th September, 2010
Tintagel Youth Hostel, Tintagel, Cornwall
I woke up so early this morning, the sky was moody, dark, and horrible looking. But by 7am it was cool, windy, and quite clear. I walked along the coast line, up towards Trebawith Strand, a place I went swimming when I first arrived in England, with Becky and her folks. And oh the wind, it was cold, blowing straight through the layers upon layers I had on!!! But it was so worth every minute of freezingness! The sun came up and the sky went a mixture or pinks, lavender, violets and blues, it was just brilliant!
Later on, amidst rain and wind, I battled it out to get to Tintagel Castle, which is positioned (in ruins, naturally) on the headland, which is called Tintagel Island. The stairs down and then up to the castle are quite a feat in themselves, whoever can cross to the other side is more than worthy of visiting the ruined castle!! The rain made everything slippery, and down on the shore (when and only when the tide is low) there is a cave, which is called Merlin's Cave. It's actually a sea tunnel which passes directly underneath the headland, and when the tide is out you can walk through.
But wait - I haven't mentioned the significance of Tintagel to those who don't know it yet have I?! Apologies! Tintagel is the supposed birthplace of the Legendary King Arthur, Uther Pendragon's son, after he took the Lady Igraine. With all the ruggedness and wilderness in the coastline, it is easy to see how some people could believe it to be his birthplace, it's as it was described in many stories of Merlin and Arthur. A small downer to this tale coming from the castle at Tintagel, is the main castle there now was not built at the right time to be the one Arthur would have been born in, so sorry to all you dreamers out there, I didn't touch stone that Arthur himself touched!
The village of Tintagel has been revitalised through the English Heritage trying to improve and encourage people to visit Tintagel on their days out, so when I was there - sadly, there were a fair few people. But the rain kept most away until it stopped just after lunch!
It was a true English autumn day, with the weather changing at the drop of a hat, and the ocean breeze upon my face. A beautiful day, full of mystery and magic.
No comments:
Post a Comment