King Arthur

We woke up early and got to the next village on our itinerary at about 8 in the morning, the town was almost deserted and there was mist everywhere. It was one of my favourite places and even just reading about it had made it seem worth going. 

It was heavily steeped in Arthurian legends, the lake by the town was said to be where the lady of the lake gave Arthur Excalibur, and there were many other sites in walking distance dotted throughout the forest. 

The mist still clinging to the lake made it easy to imagine it as the lady of the lakes abode. 

We started our forest walk off heading for an ancient healing spring that was said to be where Merlin taught his magic to lady viviane, and was ever after said to have healing properties. 

It was a long walk over uneven stones and next to brambly bushes that looked like blackberries. 

It was very pretty and scenic, the only sound that of birdsong and a hidden brook somewhere close nearby. Eventually we reached it though, and the source of the water we had heard. 

It was easy to imagine in the morning mist how the people had believed in the power of these ancient stones.

The track looped around as we headed back so we didn't have to backtrack along the same path. This meant we came across some awesome mushrooms on the way.

Actual toadstools like in the fairytales! 

We then headed off to another site, Merlins tomb. Once a megalithic structure over ten foot long, little remained of it.

It looked very small and un impressive, a few stones with great cracks in them, within a circle of stones. It was made funnier by the large band of twenty of so hippies who were sitting in a circle playing guitar and singing. They had made a little bouquet of flowers and lain it on the 'grave' which made it even funnier.