King Arthur &

This legend belongs as much to Blackhall Rocks, a few miles to the north of Hartlepool, as to anywhere else. However, it does have a Hartlepool connection, as will become apparent. It was first told to me by my friend and neighbour Reg Wright, the Blackhall folklorist and historian, who believed in it passionately.

The story goes that in the 5th century the baby Arthur was found on the beach at Blackhall Rocks by Merlin. The magician carried him through secret passages carved out of the rocks to some royal palace or castle (Castle Eden perhaps?)

Reg goes on to claim that years later the great battle of Camlan, which took place between Arthur and Medraut about 511, actually happened in Crimdon Dene. He says that  'Camlan means crooked glen, and in the great sweeps of the dene gorge we should not dismiss the possibility that the battle took place here, hence the massive burial sites in the fields surrounding the Benridge Farm'. Further evidence, he claims, is that on old maps Crimdon is actually called Kamlan.

But onto the Hartlepool connection. Reg believed that the Headland was actually the mysterious Isle of Avalon, where Arthur was taken after the battle to be healed of his fatal wounds, where he passed away into immortality, and from where he is supposed to return one day to restore the golden age to our country.