North Walk: Crackington Haven to Tintagel

Saturday February 21st: On Friday night, I had eventually managed to find a B&B in Tintagel with a bath, booked it up and arranged to be with them at 7:30am on the Saturday. They were happy to look after my car all day - and there was a 7:45am bus from Tintagel to Crackington Haven which would give me an early start. The weekend's walking revolved around transport arrangements - there are no buses on Sunday's at this time of year - so to avoid the expense of taxi's - I needed the car to be at my final destination - so the plan was to walk to Tintagel in good time to then drive to Port Isaac - Sunday's destination, leave the car there and get the bus back to Tintagel where I was staying.

I left very early - wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to Tintagel - but arrived in good time, and the bus was spot on, so not long after 8:00am - I was back at Crackington Haven - which was asleep! Ahead was a strenuous stretch to Boscastle, which included the highest cliff along the whole path - imaginatively named as High Cliff!

The path headed up towards Cambeak, a prominent high point but with severe erosion problems. The climb ahead was a steady incline up to High Cliff, with the worst walking still to come before Boscastle. This part of the coast is real Thomas Hardy territory, he worked nearby on the restoration of a local church, and High Cliff features in his book "A Pair of Blue Eyes".The walking was very much dominated by the sheer black rock cliffs and numerous nesting birds either on the cliffs or the numerous large rocks just off the coast. Apparently - there are also Seals found in large numbers along this stretch, most notably at 'Seals Hole' - a large cavern with easy access from the sea - but totally inaccessible from the land, making it the perfect safe haven. However, it was a bit early in the season, so there were no sightings.

Before Boscastle was reached - I passed through Pentargon which has a waterfall - but the path has been diverted for safety reasons, so you never get a good view of it. it was a very steep climb down and up, but then before long, you start to get glimpses of Boscastle stretching back up the valley.

Of course, your mind then goes back to the awful pictures of the floods of 2004 and I wondered how much of the devastation would still be visible.

From the cliff path - the view of the small harbour inlet is quite spectacular and it is protected by a large rocky outcrop called Penally Point from where you get a marvellous view straight up the valley.

It is a very small harbour - but was a commercial one for hundreds of years. I would have liked to have spent a bit of time in Boscastle and visited the new Heritage Centre, but with time not on my side - I decided to visit again, another time. The path headed up towards Boscastle before crossing a small bridge across to the Quayside and then back seawards to the inlet before heading up towards the prominent white watch tower at Willapark. It was going to be another 5 miles of quite tough walking before Tintagel was reached.

I walked out of Boscastle, following a fellow walker who looked all of 75yrs - but quite annoyingly, I never passed him - but then again, he wasn't taking photos! - that was my excuse anyway!

Along the way was the dramatic rocky formation known as Lady's Window and Rocky Valley.

The spectacular views were not matched by the weather - it had been another grey Cornish day.

The 5 miles seemed to be longer - but eventually, I could see the large and out of place Hotel which dominates the Tintagel skyline. The main feature of Tintagel - the castle and the legend of Arthur and Merlin's Cave, have made it a very busy tourist spot and of course the inevitable commercialisation. However, the ruins of the castle with it's dramatic setting and the fact that the town is just inland, means that the natural beauty of the coast is still retained.

The castle looks like it was built across 2 rocky islands, which were originally joined by a drawbridge. It started life as a Celtic Monastery and was also a prison. The problem with walking long distances to these places is, that by the time you get there, you are in no state for sightseeing! So I walked past the castle entrance and headed up the very steep lane to the centre of Tintagel. my day's walking was at an end - it was still early afternoon, but I needed to check in at the B&B - sort myself out, and then drive to Port Isaac and get the bus back.

When I eventually drove into Port Isaac - looking for a suitable place to leave the car overnight - I remembered that I had been here before with Suzanne a few years ago. I left the car with an inadequate ticket - but reckoned that Traffic wardens were few and far between in this part of North Cornwall!