Lynn

We will be driving across southern England,(London,Canterbury, Rye, Winchester, Salisbury etc. and I wonder if it is worth driving all the way to Tintagel or should we just head for Bath and then take the extra day for the Cotswolds. Is Tintagel worth the drive?

ron

I would think not. If it were not for the Arthurian legend, Tintagel Castle would be consider indistinguishable from dozens of castle ruins in the country. As with any of them, if you are in the area, a visit is worth considering.

Bob C

Tintagel is too far out the way. If you were touring Cornwall I would say go just to see the view from the top of the cliffs. It's not worth a full days drive. Use your extra day seeing Cotswold villages.

John

What's worth it (not really) is a snapshot of the hotel next to Tintagel Castle with its sign for the "Excali-Bar."

Colleen

I think it depends on whether or not you're an Arthur enthusiast. For me, Tintagel was magical, but at the very least, legend aside, it's very dramatic. It's one of my favorite memories of places I've seen. We visited Glastonbury, were enthralled with the Abbey, the Tor, Chalice Well, and we even found South Cadbury Hill and walked through the forest to the top, where the remains of an iron age fortress form a ring. Said to be Camelot. Gave me goosebumps, whatever it was. So it depends on your interest, I guess.

Thyra

Lynn, I agree with the previous poster in terms of, it depends on how much you are into the Arthurian Cycle. Having read Mary Stewart's "Merlyn" series, I really wanted to go to Tintagel, and it truly is a spectacular site, though the actual ruins that you are seeing are from the medieval period, not the accepted " Arthurian" Period, from the 7-900's or so, if I recall correctly. Though who's to say the existing ruins aren't on top of an earlier sight. IMO Cornwall itself is worth quite a few days on it's own. I found the Cornish coast really interesting, there are many prehistoric ruins and excavations lots of Celtic culture and some stunning places to visit...Penzance, St. Ives come to mind. However it's a LONG drive down to Tintagel on tiny roads that twist and turn and if your only goal is Tintagel you might save it for another trip when you can explore the entire area.

Shanna

Lynn, I'm in agreement with Colleen and Thyra about the legend. I went "in search of Arthur" and, like Colleen, got chills, although was greatly disappointed at Cadbury - and a bull chased my husband across those iron age fortifications, so it wasn't much fun for him. But in Tintagel, there is the world's oldest post office - or it looks like it. And Merlin's cave (oh, so what if it's all fictionalized!) was great. We even drove onto Bodmin Moor and found Dozmary pool on a chilled, bleak, late afternoon. As the light faded, the wind whipped around us and the high grasses slashed at our legs, it was easy to imagine a despairing Merlin hurling Excalibur into the cold gray water where it awaits Arthur's return. 'Scuse me, but I loved it. And my not particularly romantic husband did too. We both had nothing much to say about the Cotswolds except, "What's all the excitement about?"