Tintagel. The Old Post Office, Cliffs, and Church

Today I’m going to talk about Tintagel. It is a lovely little village in Cornwall. Amazingly, despite its small size, it has a lot of interesting things on offer for tourists. There is the Old Post Office, the cliffs, and a lovely church, also there is a castle managed by English Heritage. The castle is closed to the public now, while they are building a new bridge, but it should be open to visitors from Spring next year.

This is the castle, as we could see it from the cliffs, too far to get a proper look. The view is gorgeous, isn’t it? It does make you think of Castle Rock when you see it for the first time (reference to Games of Thrones, for the ones who didn’t see the series. Although, if you didn’t, I think you should, it’s fab). There are some steps, so people can go on the small beach underneath the castle and see a cove nearby. It makes for lovely photos from what I’ve seen.

This is Glebe Cliff, owned by National Trust. There isn’t a fee to walk along the coast and I think that is great. From the castle is a short walk and easily accessible. By accessible I mean no sheer drops that are so scary, at least for me.

St. Materianna Church is along the coastal path. The church was built on a Celtic oratory dating back to 500CE. The Saxons replaced the first building with a new one, from which some parts still remain. The current building looks like a cross. It’s easier to notice that when visiting the church. This “new” building was erected sometimes between 1080 and 1150.

I found the flooring quite interesting. It was made with slate, arranged in two different ways.

The church is quite big considering the location, on a cliff, close to a small village.

Now I’m going to talk about the village. It has plenty of places to have something to eat, like a Cornish pasty, or to grab a cup of tea/coffee.

The village was made popular in the 19th century, by poets like Tennyson and Matthew Arnold. They gave it an aura of romanticism, because it was believed that Tintagel was the birthplace of King Arthur. That also meant some of the old buildings were demolished to make space for new hotels. One example is Camelot Castle Hotel (the old King Arthur’s Castle Hotel), on the cliffs.

There are also a few shops on the main street.

You might be able to spot some people on horses too. Considering how much we talked about Poldark, getting to see horses used for “transport” was a bonus.

This funny looking building is Tintagel Old Post Office. It is managed by National Trust. We’ve visited it, but my phone decided to delete 150 pictures, so I don’t have loads from inside.

The Old Post Office survived because it was put up for action in 1895. Miss Catherine Johns and some local people raised money by selling prints of pictures made by well-known artists. One year later the Old Post Office was repaired, following the guidelines set up by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. National Trust bought it in 1903.

I love its character, those small windows, the bended walls and crooked ceiling. It’s amazing that is still standing, considering it was built between 1350 and 1400. Most likely it was made for a wealthy farmer, using local slate to cover the whole building to protect it from the Atlantic winds.

The ceiling looks like this because the weight of the slate made it subside. The house was altered during its life, as you can imagine. In the 1870s, the house became the Post Office, but only for a few years. After it was closed in 1878, the house got its name of “The Old Post Office”.

This is the Hall. On top is a gallery we could get to, with very steep stairs. From the Hall there is a staircase to another bedroom. It is charming, like the rest of the house. On the walls there are samplers made by four young girls in the early 19th century.

I can’t even begin to describe how much I like this house.

This is now the shop and the post room. It is furnished as a Victorian village post office, but they only picked letters. The telegraph was at Boscastle, a few miles north.

These are the pictures from Tintagel. I would love to visit the village again and see the castle properly, go on the beach. I’d like to have a second look at the Old Post Office too, it is such a gorgeous building.

Tintagel Castle is on Castle Road, Tintagel, Cornwall, PL34 0HE. Managed by English Heritage.
Tintagel Old Post Office is on Fore Street, Tintagel, Cornwall, PL34 0DB. Managed by National Trust. Neither of these location have their own car park, but there are a few car parks in the village, at affordable prices.

Have you been to Tintagel before?