Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: United Kingdom

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.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall is a country house dating from around 1590 and was built for Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (Born circa 1527 – Died 13 February 1608) (also known as Bess of Hardwick), who was thought to be the richest woman in Elizabethan England after Queen Elizabeth I (Born 7 September 1533 – Died 24 March 1603) herself.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Rivington Castle

Based upon a plan made by E. W. Cox in 1892, Rivington Castle is a folly and reconstruction of William II de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby’s, 13th century Liverpool Castle. Rivington Castle dates from 1912, when the building work began. It was built by William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (Born 19 September 1851 – Died 7 May 1925) and can be found in Lever Park.

Apparitions / Hauntings / Sarah Siddons / Usual Suspects

Grand Theatre, Lancaster

The Grade II listed Grand Theatre in Lancaster is one of the oldest in Britain, being opened by Charles Edward Whitlock and Joseph in 1782. Though the theatre was rebuilt in 1908, it is thought to have a ghost that lingers from the early 18th century.

Apparitions / Devil / Hauntings

Rhos-y-garth Church

The following account from ‘Haunted Churches’ (1939) by Elliott O’Donnell (27 February 1872 – 8 May 1965) refers to a Devil tradition associated with three churches in close proximity, though he does not name the individual church.