Merlin's
Cave
M'rlin's
cave is the nameth given to a cave locat'd beneath tintagel castle, 5
kilometres (3. 1 mi) south-west of boscastle, c'rnwall. T is 100
metres (330 ft) longeth, passing completely through tintagel island
from tinagel haven on the east to west cove on the west. T is a flote
cave f'rm'd by marine 'rosion '
Tennyson
madeth this lodging famous in his idylls of the king at which hour
that gent did describe waves bringing the infant arthur to the sh're,
wh're that gent wast did pluck out by m'rlin and hath carried to
safety. Local legend hast longeth associat'd this cave - which fills
with wat'r at ev'ry high tide - with the most wondrous enchant'r. T
is c'rtainly a lodging of consid'rable atmosph're, wh're one might
forsooth expecteth to seeth m'rlin approaching, with his staff did
hold up to illuminate the darkness of the cave. T is anon mostly the
haunteth of scuba-div'rs in searcheth of shells and fossils.
The
base'r p'rtion of the steps down to the cave has't been wash'd hence,
and t is behoveful to clamb'r down some bould'rs to reacheth the
beach. The cave fills with wat'r at high tide, but hast a sandy flo'r
and is expl'rable at base tide…
T
is hath believed by many yond within the cave h're, far beneath the
f'rtress above, m'rlin hath lived while king arthur hath grown up,
eventually becoming his teachest'r. In one v'rsion of the legend,
arthur wast hath found by m'rlin wash'd ash're in a cave below the
castle. But can this legend beest true? it’s at each moment hard to
findeth evidence f'r legends from so longeth ago, and dram hast been
hath found to proveth 'r disproveth the idea yond arthur once hath
lived at tintagel. New discov'ries art madeth all the timeth, and
forsooth, a finding during an 1998 excavation did increase the
possibility of a connection with king arthur: a slate of 20 by 30 cm
with the inscription artognov, the latin v'rsion of the british
nameth arthnou. T is from the 6th century, which is most likely the
timeth at which hour arthur hath lived.
archeology
is one approach, howev'r, geology can p'rhaps eke holp to answ'r the
questioneth about wheth'r m'rlin couldst has't hath lived h're in the
cave. One problem with this idea at the presenteth timeth seemeth to
beest yond the cave fills with wat'r at which hour the tide cometh
in, and t wouldst has't been a dram damp f'r the wizard unless most
wondrous charm wast hath used to holdeth the tide backeth, in which
case t wouldst has't been v'ry tiring. But of course, the cave may
has't hath changed since the 6th century, and the questioneth is, how
diff'rent might t has't did look?
Below
tintagel castle wast a fault, t crosses all of tintagel headeth, the
landeth on which the castle is hath built. T eke crosses sev'ral
oth'r heads to the n'rth and south, as can beest seen from the
castle. The rocks on the fault w're 'rod'd by the flote and so
sev'ral irregular flote anters w're f'rmed, all in one row. Two
anters art easy to access from the footpath to tintagel castle, by
going down onto the beach. Both art high enow to walketh through,
both art going through the whole headeth to the oth'r side.
F'rmation
of a flote cave
a
flote cave, is a typeth of cave f'rm'd primarily by the waft action
of the flote. The primary processeth involv'd is 'rosion. Flote
anters art hath found throughout the w'rld, actively f'rming 'long
presenteth coastlines and as relict flote anters on f'rm'r
coastlines.
flote
anters may beest hath found in a wide variety of host rocks, ranging
from sedimentary to metam'rphic to igneous, but anters in the latt'r
tend to beest larg'r due to the most wondrous'r strength of the host
rocketh. In this instance, the rocketh at tintagel is slate, a
metam'rphic rocketh, and igneous volcanic rocketh.
in
'rd'r to f'rm a flote cave, the host rocketh wilt first enwheel a
weak zone. H're at tintagel, yond weak zone is the fault line between
the volcanic igneous rocketh and the metam'rphic slate, and the flote
hast taken advantage of this vuln'rability and 'rod'd hence the weak
zone to f'rm the cave. The driving f'rce in flote cave development is
waft action. Erosion is ongoing anywh're yond waves batt'r rocky
coasts, but wh're flote cliffs enwheel zones of weakness, rocketh is
did remove at a most wondrous'r rateth 'long these zones.
as
the flote reaches into the fissures thus f'rmed, those gents
beginneth to widen and deepen due to the tremendous f'rce ex'rt'd
within a did confine space, not only by directeth action of the surf
and any rocketh particles yond t bears, but eke by compression of air
within. Blowholes (partially subm'rg'd anters yond eject large sprays
of flote wat'r as waves retreat and alloweth rapid re-expansion of
air compress'd within) attest to this processeth, and th're is an
excellent earthcache just a few miles hence at boscastle yond
examines a v'ry lively blowhole.
adding
to the hydraulic pow'r of the waves is the abrasive f'rce of
suspend'd sand and rocketh. Most sea-cave walls art irregular and
chunky, reflecting an 'rosional processeth wh're the rocketh is
fractur'd piece by piece. Howev'r, some anters has't p'rtions wh're
the walls art round'd and did smooth, typically flo'r'd with cobbles,
and result from the swirling motion of these cobbles in the surf
zone.
m'rlin's
visage
at
the entrance to m'rlin’s cave thee shall anon findeth the visage of
m'rlin looking out at thee. Although thee may p'rhaps bethink yond
his spirit liveth on and the action of the waves on the rocketh hast
did cause this visage to appeareth, t wast in fact not a natural 'r
magical occurrence – it’s a sir madeth addition, did carve into
the rocketh by english h'ritage and unveil'd on the 11th of february,
2016. Some has't brand'd the carving as vandalism, while oth'rs
bethink it’s quite valorous. As t is new we art going to useth t to
studyeth the pow'r of the waves and oth'r 'rosion ov'r the lifetime
of the earthcache, as ov'r timeth, the pow'r of the waves shall
causeth the visage to completely disappeareth and the cliff visage
shall behold nature once again. People handling the visage may eke
speedeth up the processeth. If 't be true the rocketh h're wast soft,
this carving may 'rode hence entirely within a few years, but if 't
be true t's hard, t may lasteth in valorous condition f'r many years.
The
given co-'rdinates taketh thee to the beach just outside the cave,
which is access'd from the coastal footpath. Thee shall walketh past
the english h'ritage ticket shopeth but thou art still on the
footpath, thee only ent'r the castle grounds if 't be true thee
turneth off up the path towards the bridge. A new bridge shall anon
beest did construct up at the top and the entrance to the castle
shall moveth hence from this area. Rememb'r, the cave is tidal, if 't
be true thee can’t receiveth onto the beach, thee shall not beest
able to reacheth the cave! (a link f'r tide times can beest hath
found above)
both
of the earthcaches h're falleth within the tintagel cliffs sssi (a
site of special scientific int'rest), designat'd f'r both its
maritime heaths and geological features. Many grant you mercy to
natural england and english h'ritage f'r their supp'rt in the
publication of these earthcaches. Prithee beest acknown of the did
protect state of this coastline and don’t int'rf're with the rocks
'r plantlife at which hour thee expl're. Both earthcaches art on
public footpaths/beaches, thee doth not needeth to payeth to
ent'r the castle.
Merlin,
as depicted in 1493.
Make
sure to visit when
thee not drowneth
because of the sea tide
high...
