This noble coast--so terrible to sailors--begins with the fine Henna
Cliff at Morwenstow. Morwenstow Church contains an early font and has
fine Norman arches. Here is Tonacombe, an interesting early Tudor house
quite unspoiled. At Morwenstow lived the Rev. Robert Hawker, a poet and
character. Bude Haven is a growing seaside place, with golf-links and
tolerable bathing. Stratton, of which parish it actually forms or did form
a part, has a fine well-cared for church, and above the town is Stamford
Hill, where was fought a battle in the Civil War, on May 16, 1643. Sir
Bevil Grenville and Hopton commanded the Royalist Army, and the Earl of
Stamford the Parliamentarians. The latter were defeated with the loss of
300 men killed and 1700 taken prisoners. One of the old guns marks the
site, and an inscription in commemoration of the battle is affixed to
the Tree Inn. Widemouth Bay has good sands and promises at some future
day to become a sea-bathing place superior to Bude. At Dazard the cliffs
are fine; at St Gennys is Crackington Cove with a small beach. Beyond
this, High Cliff (705 ft.) is reached, the loftiest headland on the
coast. The coast is magnificent to Boscastle. Near this is Pentargon, a
beautiful bay into which a little stream leaps in a waterfall. Boscastle
is a narrow creek into which only in calm weather can small vessels
enter. It is sheltered by a headland in which is a blow-hole. In a
lovely valley is the towerless church of Minster. In caves about
Willapark seals breed. From hence to Tintagel the cliffs are of slate
and are quarried, the slate being let down into boats in the water, when
weather permits. Before reaching Tintagel we come to St Neighton's
(Nectan's) Kieve, a small waterfall in a glen, where maidenhair fern
once abounded.
Tintagel village is separated from the church by a deep glen. The church
is on a windy height, and is interesting for its antiquity. Tintagel
castle stands on a headland, once an island, but the cliff and a portion
of the castle have fallen into the narrow gulf and choked it. The sea
has bored a tunnel through the headland, and very little of the castle
remains. The walls were of the local slate-stone set in mortar made of
sea-shells. In this castle, traditionally, King Arthur was born. There
are slate quarries in the neighbourhood, and further inland are the
Delabole quarries, from which slate is conveyed to all parts of England.
[Illustration: King Arthur's Castle, Tintagel]
The small Trebarwith Cove is passed and then we reach Port Isaac Bay,
which takes its name, not from the patriarch, but from a Cornish word
that signifies a port for corn.
[Illustration: Bodruthan Steps]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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