Cornwall

Perched upon the stunning landscape of Corwall's North coast is Tintagle Castle, the birthplace of King Arthur. The current ruins were raised in the 1300s, but the foundations of an older fortress lays beneath. The peninsula outcropping certainly does look defensible in addition to beautiful.

Fortified positions on each side of the isthmus offered impressive views of each other.

In the tourist trap town of Tintagle, I indulged my sweet tooth on blackberry icecream before visiting the  and apple crumble afterwards, then with walnut and maple fudge. Upon discovering that I still had time before the bus arrived, I asked the visitors' center which shop in town had the best Cornish Pasties. When both of the women who worked there offered a different opinion, I of course bought both and did a taste test. If I recall correctly, one had better filling and the other had a better pastry covering.  Beyond being delicious, pasties have an amusing role in Cornish folklore about mine sprites known as 'knockers'.

I had hoped to see Penzance that evening as well. Unfortunately, the bus schedule was horribly incorrect, and my bus rides - complete with unwritten transfers - seemed to drag on and on as any chance of seeing the city vanished. I was able to stop by Truro, the region's capital. I of course visited the cathedral, one of the newest in Britain. 

I took the train out to Penzance despite the futility, only to arrive five minutes before the last train back to Exeter. Since I had a rented room in Exeter, couchsurf plans in the week ahead, and a lot of ground to cover before then, I reluctantly headed back the way I came, staying in the same hostel I had begun the long day. I didn't make it back until 1:30, stayed up for an hour because I'm an idiot/internet addict, and then got a couple hours sleep before heading out at dawn towards the Jurassic Coast.