I took the car and headed southwest to Cornwall, the tip of England. I started at Tintagel, the castle (or what's left of it) located on the top of a hill overlooking the ocean. This place is famous as the seat of King Arthur's Table. Since that's likely just a legend, we'll just go along with it!
The rocky mount sticking out from the water that holds the ruins of Tintagel Castle (on the left) and other smaller settlements
1,400+ year old ruins Stunning view of Cornwall Coast King Arthur!
After spending the morning at Tintagel, I moved on to the charming coastal town of St. Ives, located on a peninsula. It was very British with its grey and white stone. I had lunch and strolled around this town which is oriented towards summer visitors who come to soak up the surf, and whatever sun exists in England. Despite it being a mild April day, I was surprised to see people surfing at the beach! Sure, they were wearing wet suits, but that water temperature must have been in the 50s.
Overlooking St Ives Narrow streets of St Ives Surfing...in April??
From St. Ives I cut over to St. Michael's Mount, which is a fascinating island because it is connected by a footbridge to the mainline during low tied, but completely cut off during high tide. Naturally, I returned more than once in order to see it at both ends.
On the island itself is a large castle which was fun to explore. I particularly liked the chapel, the map room, and the room with paintings of the castle's Lords and Ladies. You see, the modern Lord/Lady had their painting just as the ones from the 18th century appear, but they're wearing modern clothes and I found it humorous. Another example of old mixing with new in Europe.
The castle From one of the maps in the Map Room. Overflowing with detail!
The Lord & Lady in the gallery with all of the older ones. A modern take on an ancient tradition.
I walked across the land bridge, but after exploring the castle for over an hour, the tide started coming in. I ended up having to take off my socks/shoes and rolling up my jeans to walk across in the 6-inch deep water! (They do have boats you can take for a few pounds, but I always go with the free option if it's available!)
I stayed at a hostel just outside of Penzance, the largest town on this peninsula at the tip of Great Britain. Penzance itself is an old market town with a few reminders that throughout history, it served as one of Britain's windows to the world. The main road through the town has an odd non-PC name, "Market Jew Street". I even came across a building called the Egyptian House - decorated in ancient Egyptian décor - a big departure from the drab English standard I had come to expect.
Look! I found a building in England that has colors other than grey/beige/white!
I continued my trip west where I next passed through the charming town of Mousehole (pronounced MOW-zul) where it had a pretty harbor and very narrow roads. I didn't spend time here, but I'm sure it would be a nice place to relax for a bit.
Sleepy village of Mousehole... ...but the streets could barely fit my small car!
I was so close to the southwestern tip of England that I couldn't help but continue to the very end - Land's End, as it is appropriately called. It was fairly quiet when I came, being late afternoon in April. There are some kitsch tourist shops promoting the "last" of everything, though nearly everything was closed while I was there. There was a sign marking the end, with distance markers to New York and John O'Groats, on the opposite end of the island of Great Britain. It was also high on a cliff, with some islands in the distance, one with a large pillar on it, though I don't know what the purpose of that was.
Sunset at Land's End, looking west
Having run out of west to go, I made my way east, into the county of Devon. My destination was Dartmoor National Park, and specifically a forest called Wistman's Wood. England doesn't appear to have miles and miles of dense forest like we do in the US, which may explain why each set of woods has a name. Wistman's Wood is a creepy thicket of trees which lack leaves (in April) but are covered in green moss. I was alone there, which added to the creepiness. It was about a 1-mile hike into the park to reach the wood, where there were practically no other trees. This itself wouldn't be a problem, except that a thunderstorm was passing through while I was there! This may have been the most scared I had been in a long while. When lightning strikes, you do NOT want to be the tallest thing for hundreds of feet around! I saw lightning and literally ran to the nearest bush and hid underneath it for a good minutes while the storm passed.
I was here when the lightning came. Where can I hide??
While I avoided getting struck by lightning, I did not avoid getting completely drenched, and covered with mud. The bushes kept me dry for about 5 minutes, and while running from the lightning I managed to slip and fall on some mud and get myself totally covered. So much for staying clean and dry!
But I had made it to the eerie Wistman's Wood and lived to tell the tale:
I was able to change into some dry clothes at a nearby hotel and then I continued east. The rest of the park had bare rolling hills and the occasional sheep. I made my way to Salisbury where I spent the night. Dinner was at a chain restaurant/pub called Wetherspoon's. I got a hearty meal and a delicious fruit beer for under £10. And since like most non-US countries, tax is included and tipping isn't expected, my entire meals was under £10.
Generally, I have found that food is much cheaper in other countries than it is in the US.
My last stop before returning my car at Gatwick Airport was Salisbury Plain, home of Stonehenge and Woodhenge (where was Strawhenge?). If you want to see Stonehenge without paying for it -- you're in luck! While there is a footpath around the monument that you can pay over £20 ($27) to do, there is ANOTHER footpath just a bit further away that is completely free. And it's still close enough to see the monument, you just can't walk around it and see it from all angles.
I decided to check out this "free" access, and I'm glad I did! The pictures you see were taken from the "free" footpath. In front of the photo you can see the footpath you have to pay for.
Interested in visiting Stonehenge for free? Turn off the A303 road just to the south and west of Stonehenge, at 51.175880, -1.832649. Drive roughly 1/3 mile north and park on the road. Just north of the tour entrance on the right you'll see a footpath (51.181008, -1.828902) that will take you in front of Stonehenge, just maybe 20 feet further back.
These folks were demanding that Stongehenge be made free to all, but at least you can visit without paying.
And while not as impressive, just a few miles away was Woodhenge, which is also believed to have been used for pagan rituals. But nobody really knows...
