The Bedknobs Guide to Tintagel Castle

You can find out more about Tintagel Castle, including opening times and events by visiting the website listed below.

Tintagel Castle

Situated on the North Cornish Coast with dramatic views over the Atlantic coastline, Tintagel is a place of myth where the legend of King Arthur was born. There are ruins of a 13th Century Castle that was built by Earl Richard of Cornwall as well as much earlier evidence of settlement dated to the 5th Century and it was likely inhabited well before that.

The headland is home to a beautiful array of flora and fauna and there are some wonderful vantage points from which to watch seabirds nesting and falcons hunting.

Thanks to Dionne Jenkins for supplying all the photos you see here that were taken in August 2007.

Planning a Day Out

Tintagel Castle is situated on an exposed headland on the North Cornish coast and is best visited in dry weather as there is little shelter. The castle is approached from the village of Tintagel by a reasonably steep track leading down to a small visitor centre near the foreshore. The site is run by English Heritage and you'll need to purchase a ticket. There are boarded walks and wooden and stone steps up the 200 feet (65 metres) or so to the site of the 13th Century ruins. From there you can walk up a further 50 feet (15 metres) onto the headland itself where you'll find the remains of earlier settlements. It's not a climb for the faint-hearted, though well worth the effort when you get there.

There is an occasional Land Rover ferry service that will bring you back up to the village, but the days of the 50p fare are long gone!