from Arthur’s castle to Christine’s hamlet
the locals say ‘-good job you are not touring in the holiday season – you just can’t move down there at that time’: talking about Devon and Cornwall. And I am sure they are right. Even now, all the places we visit have a good supply of tourists. Fairly crowded by NZ standards but very comfortable by UK ones. And you can understand why. I am obviously not the only one to be fascinated by this ancient part of England – the over-powering sense of history and the sheer charm of the small villages, country lanes and green and golden fields. It really is lovely. But navigating these cumbersome camper-vans down narrow country roads is no joke – and the thought of doing it at a time when the lanes are chock-full of touring cars is pure nightmare.
These thoughts occurred as we were driving down narrow lanes to visit the legendary Tintagel castle. The home of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.
We were quickly educated by an introductory film, that Arthur was most likely npure legend. But it makes for a great story, and the castle itself is most certainly no figment of the imagination.
The setting is magnificent. Awe-inspiring on this calm blue day, but it would look even more magnificent if the Atlantic were venting its fury against the rocky shores far below.
It was a good work-out too. Climbing many uneven rocky steps and hiking across the heath at the top, not to mention the long upward climb back to the village. But it was well worth the effort.
Then back in the village we saw the making of the local delicacy – Cornish Pasties and decided to indulge once more!
Fortunately we discovered that we were allowed to park overnight in the village car-park and so we had no more driving to do that day.
The next day we had three objectives: to cover a fair distance to get to Weston-Super-Mare; visit the old fishing village of Clovelly and to find a Caravan dealer to purchase some needed spares for the vans.
We achieved all three objectives.I thought that the visit to Clovelly might just be for a quick look of passing interest, but I was wrong! Of course the approach to the village is now a commercial enterprise, geared to handle coach-loads of visitors, but the village itself, which tumbles down a steep cobble-stoned drive (too narrow and steep to call a road) remains much as I remember it from 60 years ago. In fact I found it more fascinating now, than I did in those days of yore.
And this is where Christine comes into the story. It seems that Clovelly has been in the hands of just two families for the past 3-400 hundreds years. Christine Hamlyn, who inherited the village back in the late 1800’s, decided to smarten the place up and invested a heap of time and money in bringing the village back up to scratch again. She did a good job, and today there is obviously a lot of time and effort put into maintaining the village in pristine condition.
Not that it is a dead display village – it is very much a lived-in and operating fishing village.
The massive quay was built in the 15th century and makes for a tranquil haven on a forbidding coastline.
We spent a long time discovering every nook and cranny
and everyone really enjoyed it!
Tags: Exercise, Observations, Travel, Tag Index
kiwijoe
July 4th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Hey Grandpa!
Love seeing all your pictures and reading about what your up to.
Must be nice seeing all these places again.
Much love