The legend

According to the Historia Britonum and embellished by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae, after the Romans withdrew from Britain, King Vortigern ruled for many years. But with the Saxons causing problems, he was advised to set up his royal fortress on Dinas Emrys, a hill in the northern part of Wales.  With steep ( Read more... )

History:
King Arthur's Stone can be found at the King Arthur Centre at Slaughterbridge, Camelford, Cornwall. Located by the River Camel, the stone is carved in Latin and Ogham, dating from the 6th century. The stone is inscribed with the words (Latini [h]ic iacit fili Macari) = Latinus son of Macarus lies here - Latinus is thought to be a Celtic ( Read more... )

There are those who claim that Cadbury Castle in Somerset was the site of King Arthur's Camelot. While lots of places try and make their own case for it, the site is large enough and strategic enough for a warlord of that period to use it as a major military location; there was lots of activity there during the 6th century during the time when ( Read more... )

Dowsing at Camlan | 7 January + 15 February 2012

I don't have any other details yet, but I have this on good authority: 'Laurence Main will lead a walk of five miles, including dowsing at Camlan, on Saturday, 7 January, 2012. Start from the entrance gates to the Meirion Mill, Dinas Mawddwy, (SH 859 139) at 12 noon. A further walk will be held on ( Read more... )

Carmarthen - A town known by the Romans, it is likely the oldest town in Wales. The Roman fort under most of the center of Carmarthen is dated to 75-77 AD but there's not much there, just one small Roman amphitheatre, that looks like a bit of stonewall and some grass. It is one of the seven surviving amphitheatres in the UK.There's also a small ( Read more... )

The good news is that filming - or at least rehearals - for Merlin's fourth season began on 14 March. Hurrah! How better to commemorate that than by visiting a 'genuine' Merlinian location?

the place itselfStonehenge in Wiltshire is perhaps Britain's most recognisable monument; it is managed by English Heritage, and part of a World Heritage Site ( Read more... )

Having paid to get in we didn't buy the guidebook so I'm not going to pretend I know what I'm talking about but basically think of Tintagel Castle as a rather wonky figure 8 with one half on a little almost-an-island, and the other on the headland proper.  Alas the join is relatively close to sea level so there are steps, lots of steps.  Take ( Read more... )

On a rather windy but dry day, May 3rd 2010, we made a visit to Tintagel in North Cornwall UK.
One reason for our visit was to take photographs of the castle and the headland where the legendary King Arthur was born.


( Read more... )

(Apologies for the spam, but I will be starting a new work project on Wednesday, and if I don't get this written up now, the relevant brain cells may all dwindle away…)

Alas, I didn't get to visit the field of Camlan, but I did locate The Locked Gate. I also had afternoon tea at Meirion Mill, and discovered that the ginger and lemon slice is ( Read more... )

The next stop on our Real Merlin and Arthur road trip is a mountain pass on minor roads between Llanuwchllyn (which I can now spell without having to double-check it every time) and Dinas Mawddwy. The road is a bit of a challenge, it's true, but if you have the use of a good driver like Bradley James, then it's well worth the effort. I have to say ( Read more... )