TINTAGEL Haven beach, with its cascading waterfall, lies below the ruins of Tintagel Castle in North Cornwall. The beach is also home to Merlin’s Cave, which reaches right through under Tintagel Island and can be explored when the tide is out. A carving of Merlin’s face was created by Peter Graham in 2016 on rocks near the cave.

Meanwhile, the impressive Camelot Castle Hotel stands on a clifftop looking down on the Barras Nose headland next to the beach. The hotel was built in the 1890s and at this time there were fears Barras Nose could be developed.

This led to funds being raised by campaigners to buy the headland and give it to the National Trust, the promontory becoming the first coastal area owned by the charity in England.

Merlin's Cave at Tintagel can be explored when the tide is out. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
Merlin's Cave at Tintagel can be explored when the tide is out. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

In the centre of Tintagel, Arthurian legend is celebrated at the King Arthur’s Great Halls tourist attraction. The halls were created by millionaire Frederick Thomas Glasscock in the first half of the 20th century to be the headquarters for the Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table.

Frederick had been a partner in a Victorian custard powder and jelly business which was sold to Bird’s Custard. Historic England says the site wholly embodies the principles of knighthood, chivalry and honour.

The Old Post Office in the centre of Tintagel comes under the National Trust. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
The Old Post Office in the centre of Tintagel comes under the National Trust. (Picture: Andrew Townsend) (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

The name Tintagel has long been applied to the headland where Tintagel Castle was built and also to the overall parish. However, the main village area was called Trevena until the mid-19th century when the Post Office starting using Tintagel instead.

The Old Post Office building in Tintagel, which is run by the National Trust, was first used as a post office in the 19th century. The property, dating from the 14th century, is protected as a grade I listed building.

*Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - https://bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor

Cornwall Favourites For One And All!, a lovely tour around the county, is available as an ebook on Amazon.
Cornwall Favourites For One And All!, a lovely tour around the county, is available as a book and an ebook on Amazon. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)