Boscastle to Tintagel
A short section but breathtaking in both senses of the word, lots of up and down, with - I seem to be repeated this every day - wonderful views of the rocky coast, starting in a gritty, interesting little village and ending in a major tourist trap.
The Route, Day 39
Closely following the coastline from start to finish. 5.2 miles, 8.5 km, 413 metres ascent.
Boscastle Harbour
The natural harbour in an enclosed valley has double protection against the stormy Atlantic seas: Penally Point, a natural headland (left, view from Willapark), behind it a curving channel where the waters are still not calm (centre), and a stone pier (right) that shelters boats in the inner harbour.
The Boscastle Flood of 2004
The village lies in the narrow, steep-sided valley of the river Valency, and the local geology of impermeable rocks causes the level of streams to rise quickly.
The ducks were quacking contentedly and paddling in calm water behind the Riverside Hotel, but ...
... this channel of the river had to be reconstructed after the devastation that the floods caused.
Boscastle - Dark Stone, Narrow Valley
Willapark
Rocky Valley
More beautiful walls
Tintagel Castle: Camelot?
Some of the hordes of visitors would like to think so, and English Heritage is marketing this admittedly wonderful site for all it's worth. The gap in the rocks (photo below right) is known as the Ladies' Window. Of course Queen Guinevere must have spent many hours looking out here.
Church of St Materiana
Shipwreck
Trethevey, near Rocky Valley.
John Sykes was here, 27 June 2024
