Tintagel to Dunster Castle England

The weather report was filled with wind and rain warnings today but luckily the night had been peaceful at the Poldark Inn. After our quick morning coffee we drove out through Belabole which has the largest man-made hole in Britain. The slate quarry has been here for over 600 years and is over 1km in width and 1.5km in depth. Today it still produces 120tins of slate a day. Unfortunately we could not see it as tours are only from may-aug. Close by was the quaint village of Tintagel. It is said it was the birth place of the legendary King Arthur. We managed a free park near the castle hotel.

We then walked through the village. Mark enjoyed a breakfast pasty and I had a yummy pistachio croissant. 

Unfortunately we were too early to see the NT Old Post office that is over 600 years old but it was lovely from the outside. 

We got some views of the rocky headland and cantilever bridge(built in 2019) and we decided that we should get a closer look. We were able to walk under and then on either side but not over as it was closed today due to the weather. Although unsure we would have paid £21 pp for the privilege. Anyway we saw the castle forecourt and gained a bit of information about the castle. 

We then returned via the village and Mark couldn’t resist another Cornish pasty as this would be our last one in Cornwall.

So from here we travelled along the A39 -it sounds like a major road… but it actually consists of all roads conditions. It didn’t help that the satnav took us on a few shortcuts. One lady in a car actually shook her head at us .. probably wondering what the hell we were doing driving along that particular road… unfortunately we were committed and so we continued on…We did eventually get back to the A39. 

Boscastle..

50% of the drive is like this… no views.

The moors above Minehead 

Of course there are plenty of pretty villages  and astounding coastline to see but quite frankly between the narrow roads and the atrocious weather we just made a beeline for Dunster Castle (National Trust). We arrived at 2:30pm and went to see the Victorian country house that had been renovated during the 1800’s for the Luttrell family. It was the first time we had seen leather hangings which are believed to be the most complete type in the world. 

We then ventured out to the 18th century watermill via the village. It is a rare surviving example of a double overshot mill. They still produce flour today.

Not far away we spotted an overnight parking spot just out of Washford at Cleeve Abbey. The rain kept up into the night. 180 slow km today..

Also tried to find water today from numerous petrol stations to no avail…