European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 10, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Tintagel tourist browses a Boorack in a secondhand shop. Vacationers stroll tin Tagel s High Street in search of souvenirs. Tintagel town makes its living thriving on legend a Street musician plays in the town s Center. 10 stripes Magazine november 10, 1994 by Dave Didio staff photographer so this was Camelot King Arthur if he really did exist would turn Over in his crypt if he could hear the clamping of tourists sandals on the pavement above. While historians and archaeologists Ponder the Validity of Tintagel s claim to a portion of arthurian legend shopkeepers along its High Street must Deal with the hard facts of financial survival in the modern world. People want to believe in Camelot and merchants Are willing to sell them a piece of the dream. As Long As nobody can say for certain just where Camelot was or if it Ever existed at All who is to say it was t at Tintagel the surrounding Countryside certainly has a haunting romantic Quality about it. Lush Emerald  leading up to the rugged coastal Cliffs at Tintagel head capped by a dramatic Burnt Orange sky make an enchanting foundation for a legend. Whether Arthur was a sixth Century dark age chieftain As historians suspect he was or a chivalrous medieval King As our  like him to be this is still the sort of landscape in which Arthur might have o lived. A Little closer to reality the Village of Tintagel itself could hardly be called a jewel in Arthur s Crown. Its a photos by Dave Didio glitters but mostly from the reflections on reproductions of Merlin s Crystal Ball or blown Glass miniatures of unicorns sold in Many of the gift shops along fascinating High Street. Fantasy reigns in King Arthur s great Halls a Structure created Between the two great world wars by Frederick Glasscock a millionaire businessman who retired in Tintagel. Smitten by the magic of the area he built the Halls As a tribute to the memory of Arthur perforating them with stained Glass windows depicting the heraldry of knights and stuffing them with arthurian literature and paintings. On the North Edge of town lies Tintagel head a jutting chunk of Mainland nearly severed into Island status by decades of erosion. The foundation and partial waifs of an ancient fortification known today As Tintagel Castle Lieut its top reachable by a muscle pulling climb up Steep stairs on the South face of the  x. Imagination would like to Tell us this might once have been Arthur s Castle but archaeologists Tell us it was More Likely built by celts about six centuries after the e Good King died. Further research has disclosed however that some kind of fortress did exist Here even before Arthur s time. Probably the most striking edifice on the horizon is the King Arthur s Castle hotel. Built Well beyond the town proper at the turn of the Century in the fashion of a Norman Castle it stands a lonely Vigil Over the foaming Atlantic Waves that swirl around the rocks below. No other accommodation in Tintagel can offer such a breathtaking Panorama of the Tintagel coastline. Most businesses in Tintagel have connected themselves in some Way to the legend of Camelot and apart from a few ice Cream stores and newsagents and a solitary Gas station at the end of High Street there is a noticeable absence of retail outlets normally associated with bustling Small communities. 1 unlike Many tourism oriented villages Tintagel has ittle nightlife to satisfy the cravings of a restless vacation Road. After Sundown a Cannon fired Down High Street would probably hit Only the few cows that choose to use tas the path that connects pastures at opposite ends of he Village. You would t hit a tourist. Not quite ready to All it a Day they re All packed Wall to Wall inside the King Rthur s arms pub where an excellent Range of pub rub is served until Midnight. Still the Village is Good for a bit of family vacation fun f taken in the same Light As a stroll through Disneyland. Good beaches Are within a few minutes drive along the Toast in either direction from the town and a number of farms offer horseback Riding a Little farther Inland. The air is fresh the Pace is relaxed and you Don t have to take the Crown too seriously. Tintagel lives so that the legend of Camelot might live the legend in its turn keeps Tintagel alive. Tourists Hearty enough to make the Steep climb up Tintagel head s South face explore the ruins of the Castle above. King Arthur s Halls contain literature and displays about the Arthur and his knights left. To november 10, 1994 stripes Magazine 11