Tintagel, Boscastle and the north west Cornish Coast

We left behind Hele (Exeter) en route to Wales, but of course if we took the most direct route we would have missed something....... We had already decided to skip Land's End (far South Cornwall), but I was determined to see some of the spectacular Cornish Coastline, so we headed west to Tintagel. Here I started to develop a fascination for drystone walls. I have noticed that they are constructed differently in different areas and my trusty tour guide (aka Ray of course) tells me that I will see many more. This one (below) is typical of those in Tintagel and I think they are fantastic.
Tintagel treated us to some great views over the Atlantic Ocean.

If you care for the 'hysterical' viewpoint Tintagel is the legendary birthplace of King Arthur (Merlin the Magician, Knights of the Round Table etc). The castle is of course a ruin, but made for wonderful views. You can walk down the cliffs and around the site but we chose to 'worship from afar'.

From Tintagel we drove a short distance to Boscastle. A charming little coastal port, famous for witches. It was here that I discovered an alternate mode of transport. Possibly faster, but I think perhaps not so good in inclement weather..........

Boscastle actually reminded me of Polperro, perhaps slightly less steep, but almost as charming

The photo below was taken as we stopped off on our drive northwards along the coast. It was taken from a spot called Phillip's Point. Breathtaking - although my photography, yet again, does not do it justice!

We did find a sandy beach!! No pebbles. It was called Wide Bay. As it was a weekend it was fairly busy with families enjoying the lovely weather. I must admit this is the first time that paying for parking annoyed me. Actually it incensed me!! The only place to park was in a (rough) paddock by the beach, but it was actually a pay and display patrolled parking lot!! I only wanted to stop long enough to take a photo or two............. and I did - narrowly missed the parking inspector too!

From there we headed to Wales. The Severn Bridge (Google it) was not as scary as it looks in some of the photos I have seen - in fact it's just another motorway.

We arrive at our destination to be thoroughly delighted with the pub we had booked and the unexpected bonus of view from the beer garden.

Factoid of the day Llantrwyd Wells (our destination- Belle Vue Hotel below) is the smallest town in the British Isles. To be a town you have to have something called a 'Town Charter' which comes from the ruling monarch at the time.