Tintagel and Tintagel Castle

Tintagel, and its ruined castle on the spectacular headland known as the Island, is the centre of a resilient King Arthur industry based on Victorian romanticism and a few scraps of historical wishful thinking. It is thronged with visitors for much of the year, but this walk quickly leaves the crowds behind and crosses quiet fields to reach the magnificent coastline where there is plentiful evidence of, some may say, the real ‘kings’ of the Tintagel area: the coastal quarry workers who extracted slate from the great cliffs. Their reign lasted from medieval times until the early 20th century. There is evidence of quarrying from the Lanterdan Pinnacle to Penhallic Point, where a secure timber platform once projected from the cliff edge. Trimmed slates were lowered from the platform to cargo ships at the base of the cliffs. From Penhallic Point the coast path leads past a series of cliff-side workings at Gull Point Quarry and Lambshouse Quarry. At these quarries men were lowered down the cliff face on ropes to work out good slate from just above the tideline.

Tintagel Castle

A visit to Tintagel Castle is hard to resist, not least for its spectacular position perched on 300ft (90m) cliffs. The ubiquitous King Arthur apart, the site was the stronghold of the medieval Earls of Cornwall, and probably of Bronze Age and Iron Age peoples too. Archaeological evidence suggests that it was occupied by a figure of great importance until the 8th century, when it was abandoned. Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, carried out construction work in the 9th century, but most of what remains today dates from the 13th century, when the site was massively refortified under Richard, Earl of Cornwall. Tintagel Castle is under the care of English Heritage and is open all year; it can be accessed from the upper entrance, passed on waypoint 7, or from the lower entrance on Tintagel Haven.

Although some believe that King Arthur was born here – Cornwall is peppered with sites claiming a link to him – there is no evidence. Arthur is likely to have been a powerful warrior, famed for his opposition to Saxon invaders, rather than a somewhat 'magical' king supported by the wizard Merlin. Barras Nose, the headland lying immediately to the northeast of the Haven, is renowned as the National Trust's first English coastal acquisition, in 1896.

Leave the bustle of Tintagel by turning left down Vicarage Hill alongside the Cornishman Inn, signposted 'Parish Church – Glebe Cliff'.

Where the rising lane turns sharply right, leave the lane and go over a stile. Bear slightly right to a gate and stile, then go through the next field, bearing right to a stile. Continue on a fenced path along the right-hand edges of small fields to reach a track. Follow the track to a junction of tracks at Trevillick.

Keep straight across, signposted 'To the Coast Path'. Pass two houses and keep ahead to where the track ends at a field gate and stile by final houses. Cross fields ahead to reach a junction with the coastal footpath.

Go left along the coast path for a short distance to reach a junction with a track. From behind a wall you can look down at the Lanterdan Pinnacle, a tower of uncut rock rising to 80ft (24m) that was left in place because of its inferior slate. (The route returns north from here, but you can continue along the coast path from Lanterdan Quarry for 0.5 miles (800m) to descend to Trebarwith Strand; it's a steep climb back up to rejoin the main walk.)

Retrace your steps from above Lanterdan Quarry to where the path followed from Trevillick joins the coast path. Here follow the coast path to eventually cross a stile and reach a gap in a wall on Bagalow Cliff. Turn left here, go over a stile then follow the path round Penhallic Point to join a broad track that leads down to Tintagel Youth Hostel, once the offices of the nearby cliff quarries.

Go past the hostel, then follow the coast path with the Church of St Materiana in sight. Bear right towards the church.

Turn left and follow a track along the seaward wall of the churchyard. Keep on this path towards the great headland of the Island to cross a stile on the coast path; descend past fortifications to reach the upper approach to the castle.

Keep ahead here if you want to visit the castle, or turn right and follow a valley-side path to reach the road (and later path) that leads steeply uphill to Tintagel. Turn right to return to the start point.