King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Knights of the Round table all believed to have started here with the future King Arthur’s birth. From Disney to Mary Stewart to Jack Whyte to Bernard Cromwell I read every King Arthur book I could get my hands on. Part of my visit to Cornwall included a trip up to Titangel to see where King Arthur was conceived and Merlin became his protector. I am thinking I may have to download some new Arthur books and read some of my old ones again.

We rented a car for the day, driving the Cornwall roads was just as exciting as the first time we drove the Scottish roads. This time I decided to leave the driving to Jim. It was just over 1hour 30 up there. 58 miles, 50 wonderful miles and 8 miles of me screaming Too Close, TOO CLOSE, TOOOOO CLOOSE. The last 8 miles were very narrow, windy roads with large hedgerows on each side. I understand the need for all the foliage on them now, the scrapping of leaves is much better than scratching the rocks underneath lol.

A lucky Instagram post popped up on my feed about 9 years ago showing this impressive 8 foot tall bronze statue of King Arthur and the dream to visit started percolating . The statue was brought in by helicopter because of its weight and location on the edge of the promontory. It is called Gallos which means “power”. Another dream totally fulfilled.

To get to the castle fortifications you had to walk up and down 100 stairs, thankfully they built a new bridge in 2019 replicating the original which disappeared sometime between the 14th and 17th centuries. It is 70 meters long and the pathway is made with Cornwall slate. Spectacular to walk on and even more spectacular when seen from below as it spans the 2 castles.

It was a dark gloomy day as we visited the coast surrounding the castle. A feeling of moodiness helped my imagination picturing long boats and smugglers entering the coves which were dotted with caves. Merlin’s castle lay underneath the castle in the cove, impossible to get to during high tide.

The town of Titangel is very touristy, with stores selling swords, books, everything you could hope to remind you about your visit. Be sure to buy an advance ticket, with a time for crossing the bridge. I can’t imagine how busy it gets in July and August. Lots of bars, cafes, restaurants and places to buy, of course, the famous Cornish Pasty.

Even though people say King Arthur was a fictional legend, in my heart he was a true person and this statue depicts him perfectly.