Glastonbury Tor
It wasn't until we were driving nearby to get to our flat that we saw the Tor for the very first time.
The brief look up on the interweb was purely to see if it was within walking distance of the Abbey, which it was. We knew it was on a hill which wasnt a problem for us, we just weren't aware of quite just how high that hill was...
We'd gone to dinner in Glastonbury at The Market House, which was abysmal but it was a chain and Eurovision night so it was always going to have been a bad idea, but we had hoped for the best. By doing these we'd seen where the Abbey was, the best place to park, and how far the Tor was.
From a distance it looks even higher than in person so I'm surprised the three of us managed considering it was one fit man, a Chow Chow, and a fairly fit woman aside from her recovering broken ankle.
Glastonbury Tor is the hill about a half an hour walk from Glastonbury Abbey, topped by the tower of St Michael's Church. What's interesting about the surviving building is that two churches were built on the summit both dedicated to St Michael. The first collapsed following an Earthquake and the second was destroyed during the Big Bully King Henry VIII's quest to dissolve all monasteries. For some reason, the second time around they decided to leave the tower standing, it has made for quite a nice view we'll admit.
The site was also the place of the execution for the last Abbott of Glastonbury and two of his monks. Richard Whiting, John Thorne, and Roger James were hung drawn and quartered.
What we didn't know until after the visit was that this site is huge in terms of the Arthurian Legend we were on the quest to find. Glastonbury Tor was known as The Isle of Avalon to the Britons (if you want to be more accurate it was Ynys Afallon) which of course led to the assumption that this was the very same Avalon from the Arthurian stories.
What solidified the belief that Ynys Afallon and the Avalon of legend were one and the same was the fact that Arthur and Guinevere's remains were supposedly found in Glastonbury Abbey not far from the Tor. These coffins were apparently labelled and found in 1191 and reasserted by Gerald of Wales. Additionally, the Tor became associated with the King of the Fairies, Gwyn ap Nudd, the Lord of the Otherworld. Due to this, the Tor became known as the entrance to the Otherworld (Annwn) or to Avalon which was the land of the Fairies, but also the land of the dead.
In terms of the church that stood on the Tor, its connection to the Arthurian Legend is that it was widely believed to be the location of the Holy Grail. This was asserted by Christopher L Hodapp, an author who believed this to be the case due to the Nanteos Cup being located in a nearby monastery.
Once we finally got to the top after our 40 minute walk, we were knackered. We'd gone quite early and even still the summit was heaving. The only cool place to shield us from the beating sun was the tower which weirdly was freezing despite the fact it's roofless and so the sun can get inside.
The views were splendid and gave a nice glimpse of Glastonbury and surrounding countryside. Would we do it again? Absolutely, it was quite a nice walk despite the fact it was a hill, but we got our steps in and it gave us a reason to be proud as it was never something we would have done before. That is a giant of a hill and a lot of people we passed gave up halfway. It isn't for the feint hearted but a Chow and broken ankle didn't stop us.
The tower itself is a chilling sight when you get up close and personal. It looks as though its been forgotten so we can well understand the mythology of this being a gateway to somewhere else. The history radiating off the tower gives a spiritual energy for sure, but could it have been the Avalon from Arthur's tale? Possibly.
While we dont think that the grave of King Arthur was truly at Glastonbury Abbey, it stands to reason that Ynes Afallon could still be Avalon. It is Lauren's belief that King Arthur was mortally wounded in Kent, based on her research and her gut feeling this was likely Dover (Dubris). Arthur was then taken to Avalon a few hours later which very well could have been Glastonbury Tor or somewhere closer as it only takes a few hours to get from Dover to Glastonbury. It stands to reason that this magnificent icon acting as a gateway between the land of the living and the dead could well be what we have been searching for. However, while the research supports it, and the ideology is there, our gut feeling isn't sure about this one. We need to go on with our quest, but this was just the beginning on the great big cork board and red string scenario we've got going.
Aside from Dover Castle which has its very own connection to the Arthurian Legend and where Lauren's obsession began, this was our very first concrete stepping stone to the legend of King Arthur post death. The Legends included Glastonbury as a suspected resting place and the discovery of the bodies which have been lost to time only heightened the speculation, but we arent sure.
If Tintagel was his birthplace or at least where he was conceived, this again is not too far from Glastonbury so it's all within the same area, its all south of Britain. Watch this space as we delve deeper.
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