The wonderful wildness of the spot, a rocky Cornish headland pounded relentlessly by Atlantic breakers, has inspired poets, artists and dreamers for many a century.
But Tintagel, immortalised in British mythology as the place of King Arthur’s conception, is one of a string of castles at risk of tumbling into the sea as climate change increases the pace of coastal erosion.
English Heritage has launched a fundraising appeal and identified its six most vulnerable castles, warning that some of England’s most beloved spots may be lost if nothing is done.
Rob Woodside, the director of estates at English Heritage, said: “Erosion along England’s coastline is nothing new but the rate of land loss that we have seen over the past few years is alarming. Rising sea levels and more regular storms pose a real risk to the future of many of our sites.”
Chunks of Tintagel have long fallen into the sea but parts of the cliff directly in front of the visitor centre have recently been lost to…
This article was written by Steven Morris and originally published on www.theguardian.com