Net distance: 195 miles. Trying to find a bathroom in Exeter: an eternity. Lessons learned: Just because you take an exit into a town, that doesn't mean you'll find what you're looking for. Stopping for fuel doesn't guarantee a bathroom. Instead, look for signs on the highway that say "Services" and include "W.C." (water closet) on the list of services.
We left our hotel in Calne and headed southwest, toward Cornwall. Leaked photos from Poldark season 3 filming attracted us (okay, just me) to Wells, but it WAS the right driving distance for our first bio-break of the day. We learned after arriving in Wells that Simon Pegg's movie Hot Fuzz also filmed there. Now we have to go back and watch that movie again! 
We knew this building (the Wells City Council) will be in Poldark--watch for it in season 3 as the Warleggan Bank.
Poldark aside, Wells is a picturesque city.
A big attraction in Wells is the Wells Cathedral.
Old cathedrals have doors in interesting places, often short doors. Apparently it was too much trouble to open the ginormous doors at this entrance, so the door is IN the door.
No Magna Carta here, but the dead people have been dead longer (than at the Salisbury Cathedral).
We crossed the county line into Cornwall and drove through what the map said was Bodmin Moor. We're not sure we did it right because what we saw looked more like pretty heavy on the forest and light on the moor. We needed a break from driving and had failed to figure out where to see Dozmary Pool (said to be the final resting place of King Arthur's sword, Excalibur) so when we saw a sign for Golitha Falls, we decided that would work for us.
Bonus, there was a mineshaft warning. Keep in mind this was just as we began our tour of Cornwall, so we were excited to start seeing remnants of their mining history.
Winston Graham borrowed a lot of place names in Cornwall for his characters. Demelza Carne is named after both Demelza and Carne.
It had been a long day of driving, sometimes on wide highways, but other times on roads like this. At some points, we had to watch for sheep and cattle.
Our hotel (Camelot Castle Hotel) was a welcome sight!
And this is what we saw from our room when we checked in.
We had 3 days booked here, so after dinner, we went into Tintagel village to the coin operated laundry and washed our clothes.
Sounds like you covered a lot of territory! I love the cathedral pictures. It looks like the "mining hike" was interesting. I love your hotel and view! Enjoy!
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