Exploring Merlin’s Cave and Tintagel, Cornwall

Tintagel is situated on the North-West coast Cornwall and is perhaps mostly known for the castle ruins that sit on the cliff side and the legends surrounding King Arthur and Merlin.  It is said that King Arthur with the help of the magician Merlin was conceived in Tintagel Castle and as such the Tintagel Castle has become a popular tourist destination.

The castle itself is part of the English Heritage and requires tickets to obtain entry, unfortunately for us tickets were sold out for the day we planned to visit so we couldn’t explore this part of Tintagel.  However, even though we couldn’t visit the castle there is enough exploring to do in the area.

You’ll find a decent amount of parking options within the village and cheap too.  Tintagel is a village but there’s a good amount of shops and pubs/restaurants and all within easy walking distance of the car.

Although we didn’t go inside the castle grounds, if you still follow the footpath down to the castle (past the ticket shop) you can still access the beach and caves without a ticket (it’s quite a decline but easy underfoot).  On the way down there us a map which is worth taking a quick look at as it tells you where Merlin’s Cave is.  Beach access isn’t accessible for all as does require navigating over a few boulders (nothing too dramatic!).

Once on the beach, to your left you’ll see a large gave opening and this is Merlin’s Cave, you can explore further inside for a good section, and although you can see through to the other side, the sea likely won’t allow you to pass through safely.

If you go to the right side of the beach you’ll see a small waterfall and another section of beach which is accessible either by going through the sea or climbing over the rocks, obviously the depth of the water is dependent  on the time of day so you could possibly get access without needing a swimming costume. This part of the beach was much quieter too and had a couple more caves to explore so is worth making your way around if you can.

You could easily spend all day at this beach but be warned there aren’t any facilities down there so be prepared for a walk back up the hill should you need the toilet or refreshments, your best bet is to be prepared and take everything you might need with you.

Tintagel beach is situated within a cove (Tintagel Haven) and so the sea is nice and calm, very clear and has a small island you could swim to and if feeling brave enough, jump off the top (obviously you should check depth before making that leap).

Once you’ve spent enough time at the beach, and if you’re feeling a little adventurous, you can exit via a different way by climbing up the cliff to your right, whilst we were there we saw a few people doing this and it was really easy to climb up and took only a couple of minutes. On top of the cliff you’ll be able to get a different view point of the Castle and the cove and access allows you walk around to see more of the coastline and more caves!

Walking slightly away from the cliff edge, you’ll soon find the South West Coast Path and if you follow this to the left, eventually you’ll see a sign that points you towards Tintagel village, or you can continue on the SW Coast Path where there’s a couple more paths back into the village.  Finding this way back into the village for me made the day even better and it took you away from the people visiting the castle.

Once back in the village, as mentioned before there’s a few options of places to eat and shops to browse and you should also check out The Old Post Office (can’t miss it!), sadly wasn’t open when we were there but even from the outside it looks like an interesting building.

Nearby and if you have the time, you can also visit St Nectan’s Glen with a 60 foot waterfall and is said to be one of the UK’s most spiritual sites.  There is an entry fee of £5.95 for an adult and the falls shut at 5pm with last entry at 4:30pm.  For the price and what you can see whilst there it’s good value, but sadly we hadn’t made enough time to visit this time.

If you’re looking for more ideas for days out in this part of Cornwall, read my last post on The Strangles Secret Beach just up the road from Tintagel or slightly further away find out how you can spend a day in Bude.