Tintagel Castle Cornwall

UK Castles: Tintagel Castle, Tintagel, Cornwall

Tintagel Castle Guide

Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. — Entrance to the main keep of Tintagel Castle in Falmouth

Tintagel Castle is a ruined 13th century castle on the Cornish coast. It combines dramatic coastal geography, Arthurian legend, and early medieval trade history. Managed by English Heritage, the site sits on rugged cliffs in Cornwall, split by the sea and connected by a modern footbridge.

Sea caves in Tintagel. — Sea caves in Tintagel

Sculpture of Gallos. — 2.4 meter-tall sculpture of Gallos (meaning 'power' in Cornish) by Welsh artist Rubin Eynon

History

Built in the 13th century by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the now ruined castle stood on a site that had already been an important settlement during the early medieval period.

Tintagel (Trevena) later became closely associated with the legend of King Arthur after the 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed it was the site of Arthur's conception in his History of the Kings of Britain. Later other writers of Arthurian legend claimed Tintagel was Arthur's actual birthplace

Although there is no historical evidence that King Arthur lived there, archaeological discoveries have shown that Tintagel was a significant trading center between the 5th and 7th centuries, with links to the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Today, the castle's dramatic ruins and legendary connections make it one of England's most popular historic landmarks, attracting visitors from around the world.

The walls of the main keep of Tintagel Castle are more than 3 meters thick. — View of Tintagel Castle with the Camelot Castle Hotel in the background

Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the wealthy second son of King John of England, built his castle here in the 1230s. Richard was also elected as 'King of the Romans' - the ruler of the Kingdom of the East Franks in what is now Germany.

Tintagel Castle gradually fell into ruin after the late Middle Ages. By the 15th century, it was already in decline, as it was no longer maintained as a major fortress or residence.

Over the following centuries, exposure to harsh coastal weather, erosion, and the removal of stone for reuse caused much of the castle to collapse.

By the 16th century, visitors were describing it as a ruin. Today, only parts of the great hall, courtyard, chapel, and defensive walls remain, but these ruins continue to attract visitors because of their dramatic setting and their association with the legend of King Arthur.

The modern footbridge at Tintagel Castle. — The modern footbridge at Tintagel Castle opened in 2019

Access

Castle Road, Tintagel, Cornwall, PL34 0HE
Open daily, 10 am to 5 pm (last entry at 4 pm)
For more details of opening times and prices please check the English Heritage website.

Tintagel Castle lies between Padstow and Bude on the northern Cornish coast.

There is no car parking at the site itself. There is pay and display parking, however, in the village, 600 meters away. The nearest bus stop is Tintagel Visitor Centre. This is a 1-mile walk from the castle entrance. Bus 95 runs from Bude to Newquay via Boscastle, Tintagel, Camelford and Wadebridge. Bus connections are available from Truro at St Columb Major, from Bodmin and Padstow at Wadebridge, and at Bude from Okehampton and Holsworthy.

The nearest railway stations to Tintagel are Bodmin (19 miles) and Okehampton (38 miles). Both can be reached by train from Exeter.

The nearby Camelot Castle Hotel (built in 1899) has fantastic views of the sea and the castle. It is a short walk from both Merlin's Cave and Tintagel Castle.

Also in Tintagel is St Materiana's Church not far from the castle to the south. A church is believed to have stood here since the 6th century. Materiana is possibly Madryn, a 5th-century Princess of Gwent, who preached in the area. The existing church is thought to be Norman in origin with some Saxon elements. The tower is later. This ancient church holds within a Roman inscribed stone in the south transept and an original Norman font. The large churchyard has several historic memorials and a Bronze Age standing stone.

The Camelot Castle Hotel. — The Camelot Castle Hotel

Cornwall Access - Getting To Cornwall

Exeter in Devon, located at the end of the M5 motorway, coming south from Bristol makes for a good starting point if you are driving into Cornwall. Exeter is also a good place to hire a car.

From Exeter, Tintagel is almost due west so follow the A30 dual carriageway, north of Dartmoor through Okehampton, Launceston, and Davidstow. Journey time is about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Exeter's main railway station is Exeter St David's Station with rail links to Bristol, Birmingham and London Paddington Station as well as on to Plymouth.

From Exeter to Tintagel by public transport is a little tricky and would involve a train to Bodmin Parkway and then local buses to Tintagel.

Great Western run the overnight Night Riviera Sleeper Service (https://www.gwr.com/travelling-with-us/night-riviera-sleeper) from London Paddington to Penzance.

Exeter International Airport, just 5 miles to the east of Exeter city near Clyst Honiton off the A30 has regular domestic flights to Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Guernsey/Jersey, the isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle. International destinations include Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Funchal, Hannover, Larnaca, Nice, Palma, Paris, Malaga and Salzburg.

National Express coaches run to Exeter from either Birmingham or London.

Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) has connecting flights to Bristol Airport, Cardiff, Glasgow, Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, Manchester Airport, Newcastle and international flights to Cork and Dublin in Ireland as well as seasonal flights to Alicante in Spain with Ryanair and Dusseldorf in Germany with Lufthansa.

Most UK flights are operated by Air Southwest. The airport offers airport parking for over 500 cars.

There is a passenger ferry from Penzance to the Scilly Isles. The Scillonian III passenger ferry takes between 2 hours 40 minutes and 3 hours. (Timetable & Information)

There are Skybus flights to the Scilly Isles from Exeter, Newquay and Land's End airports.