Niemi Family in England: Cornwall, Castles, and King Arthur

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This weekend our journey took us to Cornwall and the Atlantic Ocean. We visited the Cornish coast community of Tintagel, home to the mythical birthplace of King Arthur and the very real Tintagel Castle. The castle is another of the English Heritage sites throughout the U.K.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/tintagel-castle/

When the road is not wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass, the line in the middle disappears. Surprisingly, no one has the right-of-way so politeness is required.

Some buildings have front doors that open into a traffic lane!

The narrow and winding country roads brought us into the quaint town of Tintagel (pronounced Tin-ta-jell) high above the Atlantic and overlooking the remains of medieval Tintagel Castle; Camelot of King Arthur fame although the castle was not built until after Arthur's time. (Arthur and his knights fought the Saxon's shortly after the Romans abandoned Britannia.)

Even the car park has a view. The island in the background is where Tintagel Castle once stood.

We hiked alongside a stream down to the English Heritage reception building where an employee, noticing Matthew's toy sword, let him hold a full size replica Excalibur (Arthur's sword). Then we climbed up to the cliff-top castle and, using the guidebook, imagined the castle as it may have been ages ago. No one knows why the castle was built in this non-strategic location but there is evidence that it was once a place for the wealthy and influential.

At the top of the trail before hiking down to sea level.

The stream is just to the left of the trail. Note that Matthew already has his jacket off because it was 20 degrees Celsius.

We are going down but the castle is above???

We found the path to the castle. I am holding Matthew's souvenir Cornish flag; somehow, Lori and I end up with all of Matthew's souvenirs.

The previous photo was from the bridge on the right. The many stairs to the top are irregular size, uneven top surface, taller than average, and steep, too. We are half way to the top.

Our hotel, Camelot Castle, is on the cliff in the background.

At the top, in the ruins of the gatehouse, Matthew checks out the wall before noticing the sign; oops!

What a spectacular castle this must have been.

From the gatehouse to the living quarters and gardens.

This collapsed tunnel was probably for cold storage.

Our heroes!

The view from the top of the island.

We climbed back down again to check out the waterfall and beach.

Merlin's Cave from the inside looking toward the waterfall.

My Queen and Prince in the cave.

Merlin's Cave from the beach.

Merlin's Cave, explored during low tide. On our way out, we passed some adventurers in wet suits and helmets, on their way to play in the cave during high tide.

Back in the town of Tintagel, we enjoyed an outdoor, relaxing Cornish cream tea after all of the climbing up and down.

Cream tea in the garden.

The restaurant is also a bakery specializing in...

...pasties! (Notice that I have on my Pasty Corner, Iron River, MI t-shirt.)

Our hotel, Camelot Castle, overlooks Tintagel Castle and our room had a great view of the Atlantic Ocean and the coastline. Since it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll just show the details.

The entrance of the hotel. The Bentley and the Aston Martin belong to the owners. Although the hotel was unique, it was also a monument to their egos; cars in front, photos of themselves in the lobby, self produced artwork throughout, and a homemade, self-promoting video in each room. The location makes the hotel; the rest was a little much.