B. Listening comprehension
Watch the video and try to fill in the blanks.
Tintagel is a truly special place. In the early
, Kings of Cornwall
lavishly with their subjects. There was a
castle here: this is the place where, according to stories, King Arthur was
. And where the fated love affair of Tristan and Isolde all took place. Historically, Tintagel would have looked completely different to how it does now. There is a natural chasm running through the middle of the site. Those two halves would have been joined by a natural land
. In the 15th or 16th century, the land bridge collapsed taking the central part of the
with it. And now it almost looks as if there are two castles facing one another.
Access to the site is currently very
, with 148 steps from one side to the other. So our solution is a new
at high level, recreating the
link from the mainland to the
. The concept is very simple, two cantilevers that reach out from each side and touch almost, but not quite, in the middle. The
of the crossing is obviously in the centre of the bridge. The narrow
represents the transition between the island and the mainland, the present and the past, reality and
, all the things that make Tintagel such a wonderful and compelling place. Achieving a sense of harmony is one of the primary aims of the project. We wanted it to be both
but also of its time. The main access route is via the historic
in the inner walls. At this point, the bridge will reveal itself and open up dramatic views of the old castle. The materials for the bridge are simple, durable and appropriate for the context of the site. The bridge will be formed of stainless steel and carbon steel. The bars beneath the deck are extremely fine and delicate and from a distance will disappear, highlighting the main
structure.
People come to Tintagel for lots of different reasons, maybe it’s the building that fascinates them, maybe it’s the medieval castle that fascinates them or just the
. We hope the new bridge will enhance the visitor experience, enabling more people to visit the site and increase their understanding of this
.
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