Tintagel - The Surrounding Area

For a suitable Ordnance Survey map of the area please buy OS Explorer 111 - Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel; or see my Tintagel Map for more details.

Tintagel Island and Castle from Glebe Cliff

Most people know of Tintagel. Many people consider it the birthplace of King Arthur. Others visit Tintagel village and the Castle in the full knowledge that the present structures are largely Norman - built in the 11th and 12th centuries. There are enough unanswered questions to still provide most visitors with a sense of mystery.

Approaching St. Materianas Church on Glebe Cliff

Statue of St. Materiana inside the Church at Tintagel

Tintagel now survives on its suggested links with King Arthur and is a very popular tourist area in the summer months. Incidentally, all those people who suggested that Tintagel has no links to King Arthur were dumbfounded by the recent discovery of the 'Arthnou Stone' - an inscribed slate dating from about the 6th Century. There are excellent cliff walks west to the slate quarries around Lanterdan and Bagalow and east over Barras Nose to Gullastem, Willapark and on to Trevalga and Boscastle. Nearby are the very picturesque Rocky Valley and the magical St Nectan's Glen - well worth a visit.

Stained Glass Window - Faith and Hope - inside the Church of St. Materiana at Tintagel