Arthurian sites_0004 Left:  These are the rusty red circles of the Vesica Pool at Chalice Well in Glastonbury – the inspiration behind my imagined scrying pool in Morgana’s secret garden, in which she sees terrifying visions of the future – our future.

Arthurian sites_0002Left: ‘South Cadbury Castle’, one of the favoured sites for Camelot, is in fact the site of an ancient hill fort that dates back to the Dark Ages – and which may well have been the stronghold of a dux bellorum, the inspiration behind the stories of King Arthur.  Now it is just a green, grassy, flat-topped hill in private ownership.  In the background, 10 miles away and barely discernible, is Glastonbury Tor, the two sites linked by ‘Arthur’s hunting causeway’. It is said that you can sometimes see them at night, and hear the sounds of the hunt.

Arthurian sites  Left:  ‘Merlin’s tomb’ in the Foret de Paimpont in Brittany. This is thought to be the site of the great Forest of Broceliande where the knights encountered magical beings and had many great adventures.  Even today the site is littered with votive offerings and messages to Merlin, illustrating the powerful hold Arthurian legend still holds after almost a thousand years.

2 Comments

  1. Oh Flick, you awaken so many memories for me: bending over a pool at the Chalice Well and drinking clear water from a cup chained there when travelling with my mother; climbing Glastonbury Tor as a younger traveller, up that spiral path to rest at the top on sodden green grass; enjoying the fleeting flickering sun after retreating from the dank urine-smelling ruined tower. Then later, camping in the Forest of Broceliande in a campervan with our three small children, only to see our six-year-old tumble backwards from her dinner stool into a tangle of grasping blackberries. It is a tricky place, despite the velvet grass and fluttering leaves above. The fatal fairy Nimue still haunts the place. I too was caught by Malory’s tales when a student, and the wisps and webs of it still catch at my imagination, like yours – thanks for re-awakening it all…

  2. Hi Wendy – lyrical as always about some of my favourite places! Glad I awakened some memories for you; it really is a magical ‘forest’ and I loved Merlin’s tomb with all its poems and prayers and such a strong sense of belief that the magic would work. I loved my research trips over in the UK and hope to go again next year to suss out some more for the sequel to I, Morgana.

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