What a wonderful way to spend our last full day in Cornwall, heading to the Northern Coast in search of the tiny villages that are the location for Rita's parents favorite TV series (Rosemunde Pilcher), one of our favorite BBC shows, Doc Martin (carried on PBS in Vancouver) and the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. We were off to Port Isaac and Tintagel, a 90 minute drive from Penzance. Getting to these ideallic and very small villages was quite the stressful experience as we had to drive on hilly, twisting one lane roads for the last several miles. If a car comes from the other direction its the car closest to a turnout that has to back up. I only had to back up three times but going backwards in a very narrow, high hedged road while driving on the right side is quite un-natural and unnerving. Thankfully, it all worked out and I only have a few new grey hairs to show for the experience. Our first stop was Port Isaac where both Rosemunde Pilcher and Doc Martin TV series are filmed. Its been a fishing village since the 14th century and still has an active fishery. It's narrow, winding streets, old white-washed cottages and traditional granite, slate fronted Cornish houses along with its spectacular location has made it very popular as a location for movies and TV series. We parked our car at the top of the hill and walked down into the village. On the way down to the village you are treated to stunning views of the coast as the trail leads from the top of the cliffs into the harbour . After walking through the village we took a trail up the cliff on the other side to get a wonderful view of the harbour. Back at the car park we programmed Tom Tom for our next destination, Tintagel Castle. Somehow I managed to take a wrong turn at a junction and could not turn around on the one lane road until we came to a parking lot. We decided to park and see where we ended up. It was a tiny place called Trewarmett Beach which was a small bay carved out of the rocky cliffs and created excellent waves for surf and boogie board enthusiasts. After a walk-about we got back in the car and made our way to Tintagel Castle without further incident. The castle was built half on the mainland and half on a jagged headland projecting out into the Cornish Sea. The Legand was started in 1138 when the book "History of the Kings of Britain" was published and mentions the birth of King Arthur (Camalot fame) at Tintagel Castle. There was no no proof presented that this information was true but a hundred years later in 1260 Richard, Earl of Cornwall built his castle based on the Legand of King Arthur being born at this location. The ruins visible today belong to Richard's castle. Tourists have been coming to this site since the end of the 17th century also believing in the legend of King Arthur. We climbed all over this magnificant site and were very impressed not only with its rugged beauty but with the inginuity of the 13th century architects who built this large facility on such a difficult site. After all this walking about it was time for spot of Cornwall cream tea, this comprises of a scone, clotted cream (whipped butter and cream), strawberry jam and tea. It was decadent and it was delicious. A great way to end our time in Cornwall.
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