England Guide
Devon and Cornwall
Tintagel
The wild and unspoiled coast around Tintagel provides an appropriate backdrop for the forsaken ruins of Tintagel Castle (daily 10am–4/6pm; £4.70; www.english-heritage.org.uk). It was the twelfth-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth who first popularized the notion that this was the birthplace of King Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon and Ygrayne. Tintagel is certainly a plausible candidate, though the castle ruins in fact belong to a Norman stronghold occupied by the earls of Cornwall, who after sporadic spurts of rebuilding allowed it to decay, most of it having been washed into the sea by the sixteenth century. The remains of a sixth-century Celtic monastery are also visible on the headland, and have provided important insights into how the country's earliest monastic houses were organized.
The easiest access to the site is from the village of TINTAGEL, a dreary collection of cafés and B&Bs where the only item of note is the Old Post Office (Easter to Sept daily 11am–5.30pm; Oct daily 11am–4pm; £2.70; www.nationaltrust.org.uk), a rickety-roofed slate-built construction dating from the fourteenth century, now restored to its appearance in the Victorian era.
Most of the B&Bs are on Atlantic Road, with the best being Pendrin House ( 
01840/770560, 
www.pendrinhouse.co.uk ; Price: ₤51-60) and Bosayne ( 01840/770514, www.bosayne.co.uk ; Price: ₤61-70). Three-quarters of a mile west of Tintagel at Dunderhole Point, the offices of a former slate quarry now house a YHA hostel with great views of the coastline ( 0845/371 9145 www.yha.org.uk ; closed Nov– March; £12).