Tintagel (Web site), in Cornwall is 237 miles southwest of London, 141 miles south west of Bristol and 46 miles west of Plymouth. This was a walk-around town for us when we stayed in a campground near Tintagel village in 2003.  It is a very small town, very touristy in the summer.  We include it here for two reasons.  The first of these is that it is on a spectacular part of the northwest Cornwall coast--cliffs overlooking blue water bays--as close to a Big Sur look as we saw in England.  The second is that Tintagel is King Arthur country.  There is a Tintagel castle where legendary Arthur resided and where the round table was supposed to have been.  And there is Merlin's cave.  We did not see the latter which is on the right hand cliff just above the water in the photo of the castle in the link below.  But we did see the castle ruins from a distance.  It lies on a high promontory overlooking the sea.  Also, there is an Old Post Office building that dates from the 14th century. And a main street with shops.  That is about it.  The web site in the Tintagel link above provides information about the area's attractions as well as a photo of the castle and other photos.

 

We have only a few photos, one of which is overlooking the campground. 

 

We visited Tinagel as part of a tour around Cornwall (clickable map of towns).  This area has a two towns whose names will be familiar to people with some knowledge of Cape Cod in Massachussetts.  We tried to visit Truro, for example, but could not find a place to park in this busy town.  There is also Falmouth.  Anyone familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan will know the name of the town Penzance, where the pirates were based.  And sailors will know Land's End at the southwest tip of Cornwall and the Lizard at the end of the southernmost promontory.

 

Our letter from this trip is about our travels in Cornwall.