Merlin's Cave

From the Admission Gate at Tintagel, a different path leads down the cliff to the shoreline and the sea. At low tide, you can go down to visit Merlin's Cave. Wooden stairs with railings lead down the cliff about three-quarters of the way to the bottom. Then, for no apparent reason that I could see, the stairs simply stop -- just as they reach an immense pile of huge, slippery boulders and rocks. At that point, you must (as best you can) clamber down over this granite obstacle course in order to reach the shore.

Excuse me, but I must pause here and rant. Talk about a lawsuit waiting to happen! Over the years, surely people have slipped and fallen and broken Gawd-knows-what getting over those rocks -- how could they not? Why on earth the stairs do not go all the way to the bottom is beyond me. At a Canadian tourist site, they most certainly would. Plus there would also be an elevator or funicular to transport the elderly or disabled. We believe in accessibility in Canada! And no lawsuits!

Anyway, with the help of other people in our tour group, I made it over the boulders and down to the shore. Kelp littered the beach, which was an interesting sight for those of us not used to the seaside. A lovely waterfall cascaded down the cliff a short distance away:

Across the beach we entered Merlin's Cave which was large and easily accessible. People could stand upright and move about without difficulty. Here's the entrance:

Merlin's Cave is open at both ends. At low tide, there is just a trickle of sea water flowing across the cave's gravelly floor. But at high tide, the North Atlantic comes roaring through! Of course all we saw was sunlight, as shown in this photo:

The walls of the cave have large veins of whitish quartz running through them. Perhaps this was the basis for Mary Stewart's novel about Merlin, called The Crystal Cave, which I read as a teenager. I don't know. But it does make the cave walls look rather eerie:

Mara Freeman led us in a keening Celtic chant in the heart of Merlin's Cave, which suited this wild and mysterious place. Then we had time to explore the cave further and take photos. Dare I say that it was a magical experience?

[All photos of Tintagel and Merlin's Cave in the past few posts were taken by my Rare One, who is fast becoming the Official Photographer of the She Who Seeks blog!]

On Thursday, I will start a series of posts about Boscastle and the Museum of Witchcraft.