Sarner Appointed to Reimagine Tintagel’s Visitor Gateway for English Heritage
In 2025, English Heritage acquired The Wootons Inn on Tintagel’s High Street, marking a significant step in a bold new vision for the visitor arrival experience at Tintagel Castle. Sarner is delighted to have been appointed to collaborate with English Heritage on the initial concept explorations, helping to bring this ambitious vision to life.
The building will be transformed into a dynamic Visitor Centre, seamlessly integrating immersive storytelling, admissions and membership services, and a curated retail environment. The redesigned frontage will enhance visibility and strengthen the building’s presence on the High Street, creating a welcoming and distinctive point of arrival.
The project involves a comprehensive refurbishment of the existing building, creating a distinctive and engaging gateway that enhances visibility, enriches orientation, and sets the tone for the extraordinary landscape beyond.
At the core of the concept lies The Legendary Journey: a narrative framework embracing Tintagel’s rugged coastal beauty, its associations with prestige and power, its mythical origins, and its enduring cultural significance.
Retail forms an integral part of the experience. Visitors will move through a sequence of carefully curated spaces that transition from light-filled interiors showcasing Cornish local produce and craft, to a refined English Heritage merchandise zone, and finally to a more atmospheric setting dedicated to myths and legends associated with the site.
At the heart of the Visitor Centre is an accessible, immersive introductory experience designed to build anticipation and deepen engagement with the site.
“The acquisition of The Wootons Inn represents a transformative moment for Tintagel,” said Ed Cookson, Project Director at Sarner. “It has been a pleasure working with English Heritage to explore a design direction that not only celebrates Tintagel’s extraordinary landscape, layered history and enduring mythology, but also strengthens the practical foundations of the visitor experience. The scheme balances immersive storytelling with clear circulation and efficient admissions and integrated retail planning, ensuring the centre can confidently accommodate high visitor numbers while retaining a strong sense of arrival and place.”
