|
|
 |
Three
Westcountry walkers have charted a new long distance footpath uniting
two legendary Arthurian sites of Camelot - Cadbury Castle in Somerset
and Tintagel Castle in Cornwall.
In true Arthurian style the three adventurers set out from Cadbury
Castle in March 2004 to establish a new cross-country route all the
way to Tintagel Castle.
Graham Barley, former custodian of Sherborne Castle and a keen long
distance walker, couldn’t resist the romantic notion of uniting
the two Camelots.
So along with his walking mates Garry Bourne and Julian Dawson, Graham
set about devising a cross-country route called Arthur’s Way.
The walk, which started on Saturday 6th March, is raising funds for
Breakthrough Breast Cancer and local cancer care units.
 |
| Under
a medieval arch at Tintagel Castle |
For eight
days they competed against the elements, contours and sometimes-hostile
countryside in their quest.
They started the walk by tracing the Leland Trail from Cadbury Castle
through Montacute, past St Michaele's Hill and over the top of Ham
Hill Country Park.
Here they set about charting a new long distance footpath all the
way to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall.
They found themselves passing over the remarkable Blackdown Hills,
following the tranquil Culm Valley that led them on to the Great Western
Canal through Tiverton and down the Exe Valley Way to Bickleigh.
From there they headed directly west passing just north of Crediton
where they skirted between the foothills of Dartmoor on their left
and Exmoor on their right.
In no time the spiky crags of Bodmin Moor replaced the high Tors of
Dartmoor to the south and straight ahead the guys caught their first
site of the sea and the West Coast horizon.
 |
| Taking
a sacred dip at St Nectan's Glen. |
They entered
the mystical rainforest underworld of St Nectan's Glen in high spirits.
Here they stripped off and 'enjoyed' an invigorating precursory celebration
dip beneath the cascading 60ft ice cool waterfall of the Glen.
They continued towards the rugged Cornish coastline skirting north
east of Tinatgel town where they joined the cliff edge coastal path
that led them to the legendary site of Tintagel Castle.
Clinging to the rugged Cornish coastline Tintagel is inexorably linked
to Cadbury through the heroic legends of King Arthur and his fabled
castle of Camelot.
The
trio were prompted to organise the walk after seeing a new compass
marker placed at the summit of Cadbury Castle to celebrate the millennium.
Engraved
arrows on the marker point towards several ancient sites including
Glastonbury, Avebury and Stonehenge.
A signpost pointing in the direction of Tintagel suggests the ancient
Cornish castle is 108 miles away as the crow flies.
In
reality they covered around 130 miles during their week long walk.
 |
| Tintagel
has long held claim to be the site of Camelot. |
The
team will soon publish a daily diary of the walk with notes, directions
and pictures.
"We have long term ambitions to get the route listed as an
official long distance walk," said Graham.
"We recorded our notes very accurately and we may publish an
Arthur's Way pamphlet at some point in the future."
So
far the guys have raised around £1,500 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer
and the Yeovil Cancer Unit and they hope the final count will reach
at least £2,000.
Julian
himself underwent successful surgery for breast cancer two years
ago. Often in the case of men it's discovered far too late for successful
treatment.
By doing the walk Julian hopes more people will become aware that
breast cancer can affect both men and woman and in all cases early
diagnosis is a paramount lifesaver.
For
more details of the charity walk visit the Arthur's
Way website.
|
