Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Specific Location: The Ridgeway

Ancient Sites

Ivinghoe Beacon

The National Trails Ridgeway footpath begins and ends at Ivinghoe Beacon on Beacon Hill. The remains of a late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age univallate hill fort and numerous barrows can be found here. The ramparts are 2m high in places and it is thought that the main ditch around the fort would have been 3.1 meters m wide and 2.2 meters deep.

Hauntings / Road Ghosts

Stert Crossroads

According to the BBC Domesday Project, a ‘ghost lurks at Stert crossroads where once a carriage overturned killing all who rode in it. Subsequently, suicides, fatalities etc have regularly occurred.’

Haunted Pubs / Hauntings

The Bird in Hand, Chinnor

The Bird In Hand public house on Lower Road closed in 2000. According to the BBC Domesday Project, ‘A young baby is believed to have died in an inn called ‘The Bird in Hand’ in Chinnor; the sound of its crying has been heard several times.

Ancient Sites / King Arthur / Legends

Uffington Castle

Uffington Castle is an early Iron Age hill fort covering about 32,000 square metres. It was once protected by timber walls on top of the surviving banks and ditches, and faced with sarcen stones. It is likely that the tribe who created the White Horse once lived within this hill fort.

Ancient Sites / King Arthur / Legends

Liddington Castle

Liddington Castle is an early Iron Age hill fort covering roughly 7.5 acres and 909 ft above sea level. Though there is no archaeological evidence to support the fact, it has been argued that Liddington Castle could be the probable site for the Battle of Badon (aka Siege of Mount Badon), first mentioned by Gildas in the 6th Century.

Devil / Legends

Devil’s Punchbowl

The Devil’s Punchbowl is a large hollow, which according to legend , the Devil disappeared within after ploughing Grim’s Ditch (or Devil’s Ditch) across the Berkshire Downs.

Ancient Sites

Segsbury Camp (aka Segsbury Castle and Letcombe Castle)

Segsbury Camp is a huge Iron Age hill fort, covering twenty seven acres, with a single perimeter bank and ditch. Dr Phené discovered a cist burial in the southern rampart during an excavation in 1871. Other finds include Roman coins, Iron Age pottery, a shield boss, human bones and flint scrapers.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds

Seven Barrows, Lambourn

Seven Barrows, is a Bronze Age cemetery. There are about 38 barrows (some sources say 32) in the area of at least four different styles, but it is seven barrows found clustered together from which the name originates. It is thought that the long barrow nearby dates from 400BC and is the oldest in the United Kingdom.

Ancient Sites / Legends / Standing Stones

Hangman’s Stone, Upper Lambourn

There is a legend associated with the Hangman’s Stone found at a junction of tracks 1.5Km north of Upper Lambourn. Possibly a boundary stone or perhaps marking a site of an old gibbet, the story relates to a sheep stealer. One day a man with a stolen sheep over his shoulder rested at the stone and fell asleep. The sheep which had is legs tied began to struggle.