The UK is filled with historic wonders, but reaching one of its most beautiful and ancient castles can be incredibly difficult, with some visitors turning back as soon as they see the crossing. Tintagel Castle Bridge is relatively new, as it was built in 2019 to make it easier to reach the 800-year-old castle of the same name that is perched high on a jagged coastal island.

It is often considered one of the scariest bridges in Britain, as it is long, narrow and suspended around 200 feet above the cliffs, so anyone crossing to see the ocean waves crashing against the rocks below. The Cornish coastline is also incredibly windy, so although the bridge is perfectly safe, walking across it during strong gusts can make visitors feel uneasy. The bridge also has a small gap in the middle, designed by architects to represent travelling from the mainland to the island, but looking down at the vast drop below is enough to make anyone’s knees wobble.

Tintagel Castle is closely associated with the Arthurian legends, as it is believed to be the birthplace of King Arthur, making it an incredibly popular tourist destination. The castle is also linked to the legend of Tristan and Iseult, a tragic medieval romance in which a Cornish knight falls in love with an Irish princess.

It is a breathtaking site that has been a settlement since the mid-5th century, but the castle itself was built in the early 1200s by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the brother of King Henry III.

However, it is an incredibly remote site, and reaching it before the bridge was built was difficult, as it involved descending hundreds of winding steps down a cliff into a valley and then climbing back up onto the island.

During the Middle Ages, a natural land bridge connected the two sides, but it disappeared sometime between the 1300s and 1600s.

The new Tintagel Castle Bridge was created as part of an architectural competition and was built by William Matthews Associates, who designed it to fit naturally into the landscape. It cost over £4million to build Tintagel Castle Bridge, but it was the first time in 500 years that the two areas of land were connected.

On Tripadvisor, many tourists have highly reviewed Tintagel Castle Bridge thanks to its beautiful scenery, but warned that it can be terrifying when you first go to walk across it.

One person wrote: “It’s not for the faint-hearted. Looking at it from a distance, when you can see the drop, it looks long and narrow and pretty scary. However, it feels surprisingly safe when you walk across it.”

Another reviewer said: “It's a beautiful spot, but if you are scared of heights, then don't bother. You need to walk alongside a drop into the sea to get to a bridge to get over to the castle itself, and then once there, you are faced with narrow paths, 1 person width only, with drops to the side. “

Someone else commented: “Upon seeing the bridge I realised my fear of heights would prevent me from walking over it, it looked amazing but it is also very exposed with iron bars at each side to give you a fantastic view of the sea and cliffs around/beneath you and a small gap in the middle of the bridge where both sections meet.”