One for the lovebirds, Tintagel Castle in Cornwall is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful spots you can visit in England. It is most famously known in British history for being the supposed place of conception of one of the most famous Kings of these Isles, King Arthur. Now, whether Arthur really did actually exist is another story in itself...
It is said (yet again by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain), that ancient King of Britain Uther Pendragon followed Ygerna, the wife of Baron Gorlois of Cornwall all the way to her keep in this remote castle where the wizard Merlin disguised him as Gorlois enabling him to seduce Ygerna!
There are also stories woven into Cornish lore of Tintagel being the location of a tryst between Iseult, the wife of King Mark of Cornwall and his precocious nephew, Tristan.
Whether or not any of these legends are true, the romantic ruins that now stand on the cliffs of Tintagel were built in the 1230s by Richard, Earl of Cornwall (brother of King Henry III) and are connected to the mainland by a narrow bridge.
It is thought that Richard was inspired to build the precarious medieval castle because of the place's association with King Arthur.
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