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Wales should be on your destination bucketlist if you love King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Combine the history and the legend with stunning scenery, and you can relive part of the story of the mythological monarch. Possibly, you watched movies like The Mists of Avalon, Excaliber, and King Arthur: The Legend of The Sword. Well, if you enjoy hiking, beautiful scenery, and exploring ancient history, then definitely visit Snowdon, the tallest mountain in Wales.
Wales – King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Arthurian legends about King Arthur abound, but he actually might have existed in real life, unlike another legendary setting you can visit in New Zealand. There, if you journey from Motueka on the South Island to Takaka, you can see where parts of The Lord of The Rings was filmed. Actually, these days, movies and books, and TV series sparked a whole new interest in exploring places where they are set. Wales features a lot of historical places associated with legends about King Arthur, possibly more than other places in Europe.
Wales leans strongly towards the tales of King Arthur, Merlin, and Guenievre. Of course, even if stories of him rising as a Chieftan who stepped up in defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 700s existed, it’s unlikely that he regularly faced off again fearsome dragons. One of the best places to hunt down Arturian tales is Mount Snowdon. However, there’s not much available in the way of massive adrenalin rushes there unless you love stunning views, hiking, and legends.
Mount Snowden In Wales – Hike The 1080 Meter (1181 Yard) Or Ride A Train
King Arthur seems best associated with Mount Snowden. According to Natpacker, “The legend of Arthur in the region is that a giant, called Rhitta, lived in Snowdon. This giant made a cape for himself from the beards of his fallen enemies. None of the kings in the area could defeat this giant.” Rather keen on ripping Arthur’s beard off his face, a confrontation was bound to happen sooner or later. Up on the mountain, legend has it that Arthur fought until he skewered the giant in the head. Apparently, he buried Rhitta there. Some of the lakes that lie scattered around the area are whispered to be the site where Arthur pulled out Excaliber.
Getting to the top of Mount Snowdon in Wales needn’t be a huge mission. While plenty of paths and trails are available, there s another option. You can take the historic Snowdon Railway. Recently, a fit young seven-year-old climbed it with his mom. They went up via the Watkin Path. On the Instagram account, @samanthas_story she wrote, “Near the summit we met a couple guys who gave my son some positive encouragement (they even offered to carry his bag for him!) and took some pictures for the gram for me.🤣 Ended up hiking to the summit with them and back down to the falls.”
Clearly, those Arturian legend hunters are nice people! Of course, Mount Snowdon’s just one place, and there are others where you can stay on track with the legendary king in Snowdonia.
Nant Gwynant Pass, Ruthin Castle, And More
For motorists, there’s a viewpoint that lies off the A498. To Europe And Beyond noted that it overlooks “a pivotal scene in the King Arthur: Legend of the Sword movie.” Naturally, it’s a popular place for those who loved the movie. Then, Ruthin Castle, lies in the village of Ruthin, in Denbighshire, North Wales. There, in St Peter’s Square, you’ll find a black stone marked with a plaque as Maen Huail. Tradition has it that it’s where King Arthur beheaded Huail, the unfortunate brother of Gildas the historian.
Meanwhile, Llanberis in Wales which lies at the foot of Mount Snowdon brings some interesting associations with King Arther as well. Remember when Arthur jumped off a high cliff in Legend of The Sword? Well, you’ll find the Dinorwic Quarry and the water there. In fact, these days, it also became a popular scuba diving destination.
The White Dragon Of The Saxons Battled The Welsh Red Dragon
In Wales, King Arthur’s sidekick Merlin identified the place where the dragons lurked in an underground pool. They fought it out and to this day, the winner, the red dragon is the symbol of Wales. Dinas Emrys is the place where young Merlin met Vortigern. Recall, Voltigern had murderous intentions for Myrddin Emrys. Unfortunately, he was selected to be a sacrifice to the supernatural forces that impeded Vortigern. Vortigern had incredibly bad luck. Every time he tried building a fortress, it fell down. Luckily, Merlin saved the day with the dragons and Myrddin Emrys escaped his terrible fate.
You’ll find Dina Emrys is a wooded hillock near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, north-west Wales.
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