Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Derbyshire

Ancient Sites / Stone Circles

Hordron Edge Stone Circle

The stone circle is associated with fairy lights. One of the stones in the circle is known as the fairy stone and may have been venerated in the past as a fairy abode.

When we arrived at the site, the day after a major festival in the Celtic calender, offerings of fruit and pine cones had been placed on top of each stone. Probably by modern day pagans or witches.

Ancient Sites

Mam Tor

Mam Tor is an Iron Age hill fort standing at over 520 metres above sea level. The fort has defences which cover an area of 1100 metres, consisting of a single rubble bank which is re-enforced in places with dry stone walling. The bank has a ditch on the outside and would probably have been protected by a wooded palisade when occupied.

Hauntings / Roman Hauntings

Bleaklow Head and Surrounding Moorland

According to a local story (from the Saddleworth area) a patrol of Roman soldiers disappeared while crossing the desolate moors in the area around Bleaklow. They either became lost and died of exposure, or as my informant would have it, were ambushed by the local tribes and buried deep in some moorland bog, waiting to be found armour and all.

Folklore

Eldon Hole

Known as one of the wonders of the Peak, Eldon Hole was once thought to be a bottomless refuge for the Devil. Folklore suggests that a man called Charles Cotton was lowered down the hole in the past on a rope a mile long and still didn’t reach the bottom.

Another man was lowered down and found to be unconscious when he was raised, he died soon afterwards.

Devil / Legends

The Devil’s Elbow

A curved stretch of road on the B6105 between Glossop and Woodhead is known as the Devils Elbow, it has been the scene of strange events and is associated with a Devil legend. Many place names in this area may have strange origins. Names such as Shining Clough and Lantern Pike suggest places associated with mysterious light phenomena.