Since I posted anything, I have been to the Midlands several times, to Builth Wells (Mid Wales), Harrogate and Tintagel. I have loads of photos, especially of the trip to North Cornwall and this is what I want to write about here.
Early in May, the Archaeologist and I drove off in the motor home to stay at a caravan site between Boscastle and Tintagel on the North Coast of Cornwall. The site is on the top of the cliffs and we had rather good views of the sea.
Despite the fact that the sky was overcast and the wind was blowing hard, it was still good to be by the sea again.
We'd already more or less decided to use the local buses and not drive anywhere once parked, so we made our first trip one to Boscastle. The weather wasn't any better and it rained as well but hey - we were on holiday, so no matter!! (Determination - you have to have it in this country where the weather is concerned...)
The Harbour Light was where we had lunch to begin our visit...
As can be seen, it wasn't the best day to visit anywhere....However, jump forward four days...On our way home we decided to take part of our journey looking at a bit more of the coast and that meant going through Boscastle again. The weather was much better:
Although the sun was shining, it was still very windy....
....thus, the Archaeologist had great difficulty getting his pictures, particularly as he selected a rather exposed position to take them from..
Boscastle is the home of the Museum of Witchcraft, which the Archaeologist was keen to see. I was less so but nevertheless, curious. If you were really interested in the subject, I think it would be possible to spend hours in there. I found myself less enthralled than the Archaeologist and although I did look round all of the displays, I can't really claim to have seen them all as I found I wasn't comfortable there.
In the village itself, it was fairly sheltered and there was a big bank with loads of Primroses (which the photo doesn't do justice to) and a marvellous Honeysuckle.
The main reason for visiting this part of the Cornish coast was to go and see Tintagel Castle. We were fortunate that the weather was fine and sunny that day too.
The Castle itself is split between the headland and the island nowadays, so in order to visit it all there is a lot of steep climbing. I think I will let most of the images speak for themselves...
This is the pathway up on to the island, which seems steep at the time but is nothing compared to the 'staircase' which ascends the headland...
I took the photo above as I returned from looking around; it felt incredibly steep!
Around the island:
Sheep are used to graze the island - probably, Hebridean - a Rare Breed - good on this kind of terrain.
Moving on to the headland, which viewed from the island gives a good idea of how that part of the castle is laid out...
Because of the fact that some of this building fell in to the sea many moons ago and also, because it wasn't possible to approach this area by the usual route since it was closed for renovation, there wasn't a great deal to view from this part of the castle.
There is a Landrover 'bus' service to and from the village. I didn't take it on the way down but agreed that it was a good idea to do so on the way back up!
After a lunch of Pasty (naturally!), we went to look at a National Trust property in Tintagel village: The Old Post Office. right in the centre of the village, it was once a long house and used as a dwelling for far longer than it was used as a Post Office.
With little secret paths...
The NT produce patterns for the two bed covers in the bedrooms which can be purchased for 40p each. The property is small but interesting to view as a domestic building.
A further, fascinating site is King Arthur's Great Hall (http://www.king-arthur.co.uk/home/tintagel). It resembles a hotel from the main road (once again, almost in the centre of the village) and was developed in the 1930s but a real surprise awaits...
Having listened to the story of Arthur, whilst sitting enthroned (if there are only two of you or you are lucky enough to bag them) via a sound and light show, you find yourself lead into what feels like an amazing Tardis: the hall you come across is a complete surprise and it is enormous. I will let my photos speak for themselves:
The enthroned Archaeologist!
The stained-glass windows are beautiful...
Either side of this hall are corridors.
As can be seen, this is an amazing place and well worth a visit, if you happen to be in the Tintagel area. There is also a very good Tourist Information Centre with a big car park and this is not far from the Great Hall.
Whilst the Archaeologist walked miles along the Coastal Path, I ambled nearer by, taking photos.
The Archaeologist striding down Hidden Valley..
Looking up the valley......
....into it......
...and along it.
Some more pictures from my walk...
We stayed on the site over the weekend and set off home, to begin with at least, by the coastal route, stopping off in Crackington Haven, just a bit further northwards. It was very windy and not really very good beach weather but we stayed for lunch, sat on the beach for a short while and took some photos.
Finally, there was a very picturesque house up on the hillside, which took my fancy.
We really enjoyed this trip despite the some disappointing weather and will be returning to the area very soon.
