Local Route--Tintagel

This walk around the ruins of Tintagel Castle will take 45-60 minutes. Please note that steep stairs and uneven surfaces are part of this site.

After purchasing your ticket at the Visitor Center (1), turn right and proceed back down the path that you used to get to the visitor center. When this path meets up with another one, turn right and follow it up the gentle incline until you get to the Mainland Courtyard (2). The Mainland Courtyard in the outermost part of the medieval castle. Both the lower and upper courtyards that you see before you today used to be larger—part of them has collapsed into the sea. This part of the castle would have been occupied by the gate porter and guards. It also probably would have held store rooms and horse stables.

Tintagel Map

Exit the Mainland Courtyard and go down the steep steps in front of you until you come to the Bridge (3). (This is also a good place to stop and catch your breath before you climb up another flight of stairs.) This bridge connects the mainland and island courtyards of the castle, and it is the only way to get from one to the other. Without the aid of a modern-day bridge, getting to the island courtyard would have been very dangerous, making the fortification there difficult to attack. From the bridge, you have an excellent view of Merlin’s Cave, named after the legendary wizard. It is possible to walk through Merlin’s Cave during low tide.

Cross the bridge and continue up the stairs in front of you until you arrive at the Island Courtyard (4). Like the Mainland Courtyard, part of the Island Courtyard has fallen into the sea. In order to stabilize the castle that he built here, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, built a strong retaining wall around the edge of the cliff and filled it with around 9 feet of soil. When he did this, he covered the Dark Age remains, which dated to the alleged time of King Arthur. The Island Courtyard held Richard’s Great Hall.

Follow the path ahead of you to the top of the island. The small Chapel (5), dedicated to St Juliot, was built around the end of the eleventh century. No one really knows why this small church was built in such an isolated setting. Because of the Chapel, early excavators assumed that Tintagel was a Dark Age monastic settlement. Its true purpose, as a Dark Age fortress, has only been revealed in the last 30 years.

Continue along the path to the Garden (6). Tintagel only was occupied seasonally (both during the Dark Ages and during medieval times), due to the harsh winter weather. When Earl Richard visited his castle in the summer, his guests were probably entertained with stories of King Arthur and his knights in this garden After visiting the Garden, continue along the path to the Northern Ruins (7). These ruins present a combination of Dark Age and medieval buildings. Like much of Tintagel’s shrouded past, their historic purpose remains unknown.

To return to the mainland and visitor center, return to the Island Courtyard, go down the steps to the bridge, and then follow the left path back to the Visitor Center.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Getting There:

Getting to Tintagel via public transportation can be difficult, especially in the winter months when buses run less frequently (and the site is more likely to be closed due to bad weather). Western Greyhound runs two different buses to Tintagel (594 Camelford-Boscastle runs hourly, and 595 Boscastle- Bude runs every two hours). On both lines, the last bus returns from Tintagel around 5 PM. (See the Western Greyhound website for timetables: www.westerngreyhound.com)

Costs and Hours of Operation:

Entrance to Tintagel Castle costs £4.50 for adults, £3.40 for concessions, and £2.30 for children. English Heritage members have free entrance to the site with a valid membership card.

Castle Hours:

Apr–Sep 10:00-6:00

Oct 10:00-5:00

Nov-Mar 10:00-4:00

Eating Out:

Juliano’s

Modern Italian eatery

Fore Street, Tintagel

01840 779000

Old Mill Floor

Traditional Pub Food

Trebarwith Strand Road, Tintagel

01840 770234