The British Isles abound with landmarks linked to the Arthurian legend. To try to unravel the mystery surrounding him, I visited some of these places. I started with Winchester, the old Roman city of Venta Belgarum, site of the Great Hall and depository of the most famous of all Arthurian relics, the Round Table.

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The solid oak tabletop measures 18 feet in diameter and weighs approximately one and a quarter tons. It hangs on the wall, looking like an enormous dart board with green and white segments painted onto it to indicate the places where the king and his knights once sat. In Malory’s day, many considered it to be the genuine article, and historians believed Winchester Castle to be the site of Arthur’s fortress, Camelot.

Unfortunately, the existing castle isn’t nearly old enough to have been Arthur’s. Tests prove Edward III constructed the table, probably in 1344, when he conceived the notion of an order of chivalry based on the knights of the Round Table, as depicted in the popular romances. It was possibly used for celebrating the popular Arthurian festivals in which noblemen indulged.

King Henry VIII ordered the table painted in 1522 to honour a visit by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. The image of Arthur is actually modelled on a very youthful Henry VIII seated in full royal regalia. A Tudor rose marks its centre.

Legend says that Merlin, the magician, conjured the table for Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father. On Uther’s death, Merlin gave the table to Arthur. The idea of a table where all were equal, where no man sat in state above his peers appealed to the romantic idealism which, especially in Victorian times, surrounded the knightly legend. In reality, any leader of Arthur’s time would have had to impose a fierce discipline or risk being deposed.

In Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, Camelot was Winchester. Local folklore says it was Colchester. The Romans, after all, called the town Camulodunum. In both cases, there’s little to support the claim. The most likely site of Camelot, backed by some archaeological evidence gathered in the 1960s, is Cadbury Castle, an Iron Age hillfort near Yeovil, high above the plains of Somerset, near the village of Queen Camel. John Leland, an antiquarian during Henry VIII’s reign, wrote that local people often referred to the remains of this fortified hill as ‘Camalat–King Arthur’s Palace’.

Excavations conducted by archaeologist Leslie Alcock revealed wattle and daub huts within an 18-acre enclosure on top of the hill. Two shrines, a metalworkers’ area, furnaces, smiths’ tools and finished weapons were also unearthed. Evidence shows that the entrance to Camelot was by way of a cobbled roadway, ten feet across, which passed through a timber-lined passage beneath a gate tower raised on posts and tied in with the rampart and sentry walkway on either side. Massive pairs of doors closed off either end of this passage. Large quantities of dressed masonry from derelict Roman buildings formed the rampart itself.

From findings near the site of Arthur’s Palace, it became clear that Cadbury had been at one time a stronghold of great importance, revamped from its original pre-Roman state and turned into a Dark-Age fortress.

The lane leading up to the hilltop winds gently upwards through an avenue of majestic trees. At the summit, a grassy plateau affords a view to rival any in England.

There have been many ghostly sightings around Cadbury, and indeed, I felt the coldness of spirits as I climbed around on the hill. Below me, I saw the remains of an ancient track that leads towards Glastonbury may have been used by Arthur and his knights travelling to and from Camelot. Locals say that on winter evenings the knights still ride along this causeway, bridles and harness jangling, to go hunting. Those who claim to have witnessed this fearsome sight talk of seeing lances that glow in the dark and hearing the spine-tingling baying of hounds.

Not far from Cadbury Castle, locals says, along the banks of the River Cam on Salisbury Plain, both Arthur and Mordred fell in the Battle of Camlann. Farm workers once unearthed a large number of skeletons in a mass grave west of the castle, suggesting a mighty battle took place. Standing on the spot, I could only dream of knights in armour, the clash of their swords sounding the spirit of defiance and justice.

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