Tintagel Castle, the castle with two legends revolving around it, is a place of history and wonder for many. It is located on an island off of the village of Tintagel. While the site is managed by English Heritage, it is actually owned by Prince Charles, thought to have been the residence for Cornish rulers in the past. It was the legends surrounding the location that persuaded the Earl of Cornwall to build a Castle here in the 1230s, despite the location’s lack of military value.

It is easy to see how this beautiful location has inspired legends, not just one, but two. King Arthur and the adulterous love story of Tristan and Isolt are intrinsically linked by Tintagel Castle. As previously stated, the Legend of King Arthur was the reason that the site was chosen to have a castle built upon it in the 1230s, and rumour has it that there are/were links to these legends built into the castle, although I don’t know the story of Tristan and Isolt very well so can’t confirm this.

Due to its location on the headland the views from Tintagel Castle are breath taking, but the winds can be dangerous when they’re high, this is particularly true when you’re near the edge of the cliff or on the bridge. Because of this there will be days when the Castle isn’t able to open for health and safety reasons.

The new footbridge was built last year to recreate the original route, that had previously disappeared between the 14th and 17th centuries. The bridge is a well-built suspension bridge with slate tiles on their sides next to each other. It can be terrifying though. If you’re scared of heights do NOT look down, it’s scary enough looking straight out to sea with an imposing cliff face on either side. Then there is the fact that the bridge actually moves in the wind, I’d made it halfway across safely before noticing this fact and hurried the rest of the way to the ruins.

As well as being a source of history and literature, the Island Garden is also an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) being the home of many different species of wildlife and flowers. It is even possible to spot seals occasionally from the cliff tops.

An interesting fact that I learnt while wandering around the castle ruins was that despite the castle being uninhabited from 1272, a constable, a gatekeeper and a chaplain were paid to stay there, and repairs were still occasionally being done until 1387. So, for over 100 years, for large portions of time, only three people occupied an entire castle!

At present, there is a restriction on the amount of visitors allowed in at any one time and there is a one way system in place, as is the case with a lot of places. Honestly, while I can understand the need for step free access, I enjoyed having the system in place on the island itself. It made it a lot easier for us to see everything and take our time looking around. There was only one point where we met queues and that was a photo point, even then it was only a couple of minutes wait if that.

Unfortunately, when we visited, the tide was in, so we were unable to visit the beach or Merlin’s Cave. Both of which are said to be lovely. It is important to know that there isn’t a lifeguard service in operation, so it is important to be vigilant and sensible when exploring these locations, especially knowing how fast the waves came in and swept back out when the tide was in.

If you are ever in Cornwall and fancy a day trip, I would definitely recommend visiting the castle and surrounding areas, as they are a beautiful site to see.