king arthur road trip

i just got back from my england "king arthur" trip and it was the scariest and most adventurous thing ive ever done. it was insane. i was by myself on a quest to find all of these hidden locations...i rented a car and i have calluses on my hands from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. and the car rental place didnt even have a gps system so i had to rely on my google maps i printed out and a shitty road atlas to find these places that were literally in the middle of nowhere. considering i was trying to read maps and drive on the left side of the road and going to really desolate places, it would have definitely been smarter to have someone with me. but it was just that much more of an exciting adventure!

my credit card got rejected from enterprise car rental due to "suspicious spending" even though i called my credit card company and told them id be in england using my card. i called the company and got them to lift the block but enterprise said their credit card machines put a block on for 24 hours after a card gets rejected so i couldnt rent the car until the next day. i spent 3 hours fighting with them & finally i convinced them to print out a credit card statement proving i had money, and then they would just charge my card the next day. as soon as i leave the rental place i got lost for another hour, just trying to get out of the town and onto a highway. then i finally get on the highway, and go the wrong way and spend another hour trying to figure out how to get OFF the highway and go the other direction. but every highway leads to another one and i get more and more off track. finally i get on the right direction and head out to cornwall, encountering tiny rocky roads barely wide enough for me to fit let alone another car in the opposite direction...on steep hills..with people speeding around them like maniacs.

well, the best part was being able to sing as loud as i wanted to my epic "england" playlist on my ipod while enjoying the beautiful view of endless magical countryside. the worst part was the roundabouts. i read about them before i left...but i didnt realize they would be EVERYWHERE. i thought maybe one or two. but yea..they are everywhere, highways and small towns.



this was my route:


1. CRAWLEY: right outside of gatwick airport, where i picked up the rental

2. TINTAGEL CASTLE AND SLAUGHTERBRIDGE: both located in tintagel, cornwall. the castle is the supposed birthplace of arthur. and below the castle ruins, merlins cave. i stayed in a hobbit house on a cliff overlooking the ocean. slaughterbridge is the location of arthur and mordreds fatal battle, and king arthur's stone.

3. ROCHE ROCK: located in roche, the castle of ogrin the ogre who gave tristan and isolde (iseult) refuge from her husband king mark. i got so lost and pulled into a dirt field to look at map again. i looked to my left and i saw the huge pile of ruins! pure luck is how i ended up finding some of these places. and the castle was surrounded by a field of thorns..but somehow i dug through a little ways and managed to find a small dirt path to get me to the castle..where i climbed a couple rusty ladders to get to the top of the inside since the stairs had all been destroyed. so awesome!!!!

4. ST MICHAELS MOUNT: a tidal island that houses a castle and chapel and is only passable on foot by man-made causeway at low tide. i had to take a motorboat to get to the island.

5. DOZMARY POOL: located in bodmin moor, it is where the lady of the lake emerged with excalibur

6. GLASTONBURY TOR AND GLASTONBURY ABBEY: both located in glastonbury. the tor is on a huge hill that was once surrounded by water and was supposed to have been the hidden magic island "avalon" where vivian lived and where king arthur was taken to die. the abbey was burned down and lies in ruins but it is home to the grave of arthur and guinevere.

7. STONEHENGE: my original plan was to go to the summer solstice fest, which is where a bunch of druids and pagans and stoners gather to celebrate the longest day of the year and are allowed to go inside the stones to watch the sunrise. but enterprise wouldnt let me return my car on a sunday so i ended up not being able to go. i met some kids at my hostel that was on a farm about 10 min away from stonehenge. they were there down from scotland to go to the festival. we went over to the stones the night before the fest to watch the sunset and there were already a bunch of hippies with their rv's parked out on the side of the road waiting for the cops to start letting people into the center of the stone.

8. LONDON: returned the car and took the train to london. i went to windsor castle, the tower of london (where anne boleyn and jane grey and countless others were held prisoner and executed. definitely the coolest thing i did, there were prisoner carvings on the dungeon walls with names and dates (see my pictures) and theres totally a ghost in one of my pictures of a dark long hallway. and that night blood red clouds hung over the tower. next day i met with andrea, an old friend and we went on a tour boat ride, went to the prime meridian, brick lane to get food, and then to abbey road.

you can click on any of the pics to go to my flickr album