Brooding Tintagel Castle

I always find Tintagel Castle, on the rugged coast in Southwest England, evocative and brooding...especially in gloomy weather. It's amazing to me that way back in the sixth century, people could have chosen this godforsaken bluff on a desolate coastline, so far from anything, to build a mighty castle...but they did. Was it the legendary King Arthur? We'll never know. But it's fun to imagine. (BTW, we've had a string of rainy days, and one thing I've noticed is that English vacationers don't let a little bad weather get in the way of their fun. I've nicknamed them "armadillo tourists.")

This is Day 76 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I'm reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, and beyond. Find more on my travel blog.

(This post originally appeared at blog.ricksteves.com/blog/tintagel-castle.)