TINTAGEL
=How to get there.=—Train from Waterloo, L. and S.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=—Camelford. Thence by omnibus to Tintagel (4-1/2
miles distant) twice daily.
=Distance from London.=—241 miles.
=Average Time.=—Varies between 6-1/2 to 8 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—Single 41s. 0d. 26s. 3d. 21s. 3d.
Return 72s. 2d. 46s. 4d. 42s. 6d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=—"King Arthur's," "Castle Hotel,"
"Tintagel," etc.
Tintagel Castle is situated near Bossiney, a place of some importance in bygone times, to judge from the number of ruins of houses to be seen there. Situated as the castle is, high up on a mass of dark, slaty rock in one of the wildest parts of the coast of Northern Cornwall, it is a suitable spot to be the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. The formation of the rocky ground is very interesting. Tintagel itself is almost an island, but a low isthmus connects it with the mainland. On both sides of the chasm are the ruins of the castle, and wide as the gap is, the buildings on the mainland and on the rock are in an exact line, and present the same characteristic features, thus showing that there has probably been a considerable subsidence of the land at that point. The castle must have been almost inaccessible. In the time of Leland a chapel occupied part of the keep. Some doubt is entertained as to the date of the building of the castle, opinion being divided between a Norman, a Saxon, or a Roman origin.
The remains of a British or Saxon church are to be found on the summit of the island. The church is supposed to have belonged to the abbey and convent of Fontevrault, in Normandy. It was afterwards given by Edward IV. to the Collegiate Church of Windsor, the dean and the chapter being the patrons. Parts of the church of Tintagel have recently been restored by the vicar of the parish.
About 3 miles from Tintagel is the Slaughter Bridge, which derives its names from the two great battles which were fought there, one between King Arthur and his nephew, who died in 542, when Arthur was said to have been mortally wounded, and the other between the Britons and Saxons in 823. Other ancient relics in the form of barrows and stone crosses are to be found in this neighbourhood.
For Stonehenge and other prehistoric remains, see Index.
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.
KING ARTHUR'S CASTLE, TINTAGEL.
One of the wildest spots on the north coast of Cornwall.]