King Arthur may never have existed, but the places of his legend do, and they are among the most evocative in Britain. This eight-day itinerary travels through them like a chivalric romance: it starts at the Round Table hanging in the great hall at Winchester, climbs the magical hill of Glastonbury that many identify with the Isle of Avalon, walks the ramparts of what was called Camelot, crosses the suspension bridge at Tintagel where Arthur is said to have been conceived, looks for the lake where Excalibur was returned and ends in the mountains of Wales, where Merlin revealed to King Vortigern the battle between the red dragon and the white.
It is a journey through south-west England and Wales, made of moors, cliffs, ruined abbeys and fortified hills. No special knowledge is needed: just a love of stories and a willingness to walk a little. For the history of the legend see also the page Britain in the footsteps of King Arthur.
- Winchester: the Round Table
- Glastonbury: Avalon and Arthur's grave
- South Cadbury: the hill of Camelot
- Tintagel: the castle of his conception
- Bodmin Moor: Dozmary Pool, the lake of Excalibur
- Caerleon: the amphitheatre of Arthur's court
- Beddgelert: Dinas Emrys and Merlin's dragons
- Snowdon: Llyn Llydaw and the Pass of the Arrows
How the legend was born
Arthur's name first appears in Welsh chronicles of the 9th and 10th centuries, as a British war leader who fought the Saxon invaders after the end of Roman rule. It was Geoffrey of Monmouth, around 1136, who made him a great king in his History of the Kings of Britain, with Merlin, the sword, Queen Guinevere and his death at the battle of Camlann. In the following centuries French poets added Lancelot, the Grail and the Round Table, and in 1485 Thomas Malory gathered everything into Le Morte d'Arthur. Since then the legend has never stopped being retold, right up to today's films and series.
- c. 500The period when a British leader called Arthur is said to have lived
- c. 830The Historia Brittonum lists his twelve battles
- c. 1136Geoffrey of Monmouth writes the History of the Kings of Britain
- 1191The monks of Glastonbury announce the discovery of Arthur's grave
- c. 1290The Winchester Round Table is made
- 1485Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur is published
- 1542John Leland identifies Cadbury with Camelot
- 2019Tintagel's new footbridge opens
Day 1: Winchester
From London to Winchester is about 110 km, an hour and a half by car or an hour by train from Waterloo. In the Great Hall, the only surviving part of the medieval castle, hangs the Round Table: a huge oak disc over five metres across, weighing more than a tonne, with the names of twenty-four knights. Analysis of the wood dates it to the late 13th century, probably the time of Edward I, a great enthusiast for the legend. It was painted in the reign of Henry VIII, who had King Arthur portrayed with his own face. In the afternoon visit the cathedral, one of the longest in Europe, where Jane Austen is also buried.
Where to stay: in Winchester.
Day 2: Glastonbury, the Isle of Avalon
From Winchester to Glastonbury is about 120 km. This Somerset town is the spiritual capital of alternative Britain, full of crystal shops, esoteric bookshops and seekers of energies, but beneath the folklore lies a true and very ancient history. The hill was once almost an island, surrounded by marshes, which is why it was identified with Avalon, the island where Arthur was carried to be healed after his last battle.
In the morning visit Glastonbury Abbey, one of the richest in England before its dissolution in 1539. In 1191 the monks announced that they had found in the cemetery a grave with the bones of a gigantic man and a fair-haired woman, with a lead cross identifying them as Arthur and Guinevere. Many historians suspect a stunt to attract pilgrims and money after a fire, but the burial site, marked by a sign among the ruins, remains a must. In the grounds also grows a hawthorn said to descend from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea.
In the afternoon climb Glastonbury Tor, the conical hill crowned by the tower of St Michael's church, in 20 to 30 minutes of steep ascent: the view over the Somerset Levels is magical, especially at sunset or in the morning mist. At the foot of the hill, Chalice Well is a garden with a spring of reddish water, linked to the legend of the Grail.
Where to stay: in Glastonbury or Wells, with its splendid cathedral. See also Glastonbury.
Day 3: Cadbury, the hill of Camelot
About 20 km from Glastonbury, in the village of South Cadbury, a fifteen-minute walk takes you up a broad hill ringed by four circuits of earthworks: Cadbury Castle, an Iron Age fort that the antiquary John Leland identified with Camelot in 1542. Excavations in the 1960s found traces of a great hall and new fortifications from exactly the 5th and 6th centuries, Arthur's period: whoever lived here was a powerful leader. There are no ruins at the top, only grass, sheep and a view reaching to Glastonbury Tor. It is a quiet, little-visited place, perfect for a picnic.
In the afternoon set off for Cornwall (about three hours' drive), arriving in Tintagel for the evening.
Where to stay: in Tintagel or Boscastle, for two nights.
Day 4: Tintagel
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, at Tintagel King Uther Pendragon, given the appearance of the Duke of Cornwall by Merlin, entered the castle and conceived Arthur with Duchess Igraine. The ruins you see today belong to a 13th-century castle built by Richard of Cornwall precisely to associate himself with the legend, but excavations have also found the remains of an important settlement of the Arthurian period, with pottery imported from the Mediterranean.
The site is spectacular: half the castle stands on the mainland and half on an almost detached headland, linked since 2019 by a slender footbridge hanging 57 metres above the sea. On the headland stands the bronze statue Gallos, a crowned figure with a sword, and below the cliff, at low tide, you can enter Merlin's Cave. In the village visit King Arthur's Great Halls, a hall built in the 1930s with seventy-two stained-glass windows devoted to the knights, and the Old Post Office, a medieval house owned by the National Trust.
In the afternoon walk the coast path to the little harbour of Boscastle (about 8 km), one of the finest stretches of the South West Coast Path.
Day 5: Bodmin Moor and Dozmary Pool
Bodmin Moor is the wild heart of Cornwall, with granite, ponies and prehistoric stone circles. Here lies Dozmary Pool, a small dark lake in the middle of the moor: legend says this is where Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur, returning it to the Lady of the Lake, after Arthur was mortally wounded. Near Camelford, at Slaughterbridge, a stone with an ancient inscription was called Arthur's tomb for centuries, and local tradition places the battle of Camlann here. A few kilometres away, Jamaica Inn, the smugglers' inn of Daphne du Maurier's novel, is a perfect place for lunch.
In the afternoon leave Cornwall and drive to Wales, crossing the Severn bridge (about three hours).
Where to stay: in Caerleon or Newport.
Day 6: Caerleon
Caerleon was the Roman fortress of Isca, base of a legion, and Geoffrey of Monmouth placed Arthur's court here: the great Roman amphitheatre, still clearly visible, was imagined as the site of the Round Table. You can also see the fortress baths, the only Roman legionary barracks on view in Britain and the free National Roman Legion Museum. In the afternoon head north through mid Wales, stopping in Brecon or the Brecon Beacons (about four hours to Beddgelert).
Where to stay: in Beddgelert, for two nights.
Day 7: Merlin's dragons and Snowdon
Just outside Beddgelert, a half-hour walk takes you up to Dinas Emrys, a wooded hill with the remains of a fortress. Here, the legend goes, King Vortigern was trying to build a tower that collapsed every night; the young Merlin revealed to him that beneath the foundations, in a pool, slept two dragons, one red and one white, symbols of the Britons and the Saxons. The red dragon won, and it is the one that still flies on the flag of Wales.
The afternoon is for Snowdon: if you climb on foot by the Miners' Track you pass the lake of Llyn Llydaw, one of the lakes into which, according to Welsh legends, Excalibur was thrown. Higher up, the pass called Bwlch y Saethau, the Pass of the Arrows, is said to be where Arthur fell. Alternatively, the rack railway takes you to the top from Llanberis.
Day 8: return
From Beddgelert to London is about 400 km, five hours' drive, or drop the car in Manchester and take the train. With an extra day you can drive to the Llŷn peninsula to look out over Bardsey Island, which some traditions identify with Avalon and with Merlin's burial place.
How much it costs
| Item | Indicative cost per person |
|---|---|
| Accommodation, 7 nights sharing a double room (B&B or mid-range hotel) | £420-600 |
| Hire car for 8 days, shared by two, plus fuel | £280-380 |
| Admissions (Great Hall, Glastonbury Abbey, Chalice Well, Tintagel, King Arthur's Great Halls, optional Snowdon railway) | £90-150 |
| Meals | £350-450 |
| Total | about £1,140-1,580 |
To save money: many Arthurian sites are free, such as Cadbury, the Tor, Dozmary Pool, Dinas Emrys and the Caerleon museum. Tintagel belongs to English Heritage: with membership or the Overseas Visitor Pass entry is included.
Practical information
- Tintagel: entry must be booked online for a time slot, especially in summer. The site has many steep steps and is not suitable for people with limited mobility.
- Walking: for the Tor, Cadbury, Dinas Emrys and Snowdon you need walking boots; on Snowdon the weather changes quickly even in summer.
- Snowdon railway: book ahead; in the colder months it only goes part of the way.
- Glastonbury Festival: in late June, in the years it is held, the area is extremely busy and accommodation costs much more.
- Documents: passport and ETA, see documents and ETA.
What to read and watch
The key book is Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur; for younger readers, T.H. White's The Once and Future King, from which Disney made The Sword in the Stone, and Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles, which tell of a more historical Arthur. Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon is set in Glastonbury itself. Among films, John Boorman's Excalibur and, for laughs, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Final tips
- Pace: distances between Cornwall and Wales are long; with ten days the trip becomes more relaxed.
- Combinations: in Cornwall you can easily add St Ives, the Minack Theatre and St Michael's Mount.
- A tip: climb Glastonbury Tor at dawn, when the mist covers the plain and for an hour the hill becomes an island again: you will understand why they called it Avalon.
See also our other UK itineraries.