Places that go bump in the night
I admit it: I’m a sucker when it comes to spooky things. Most Haunted and other such programmes leave me sleeping with the light on – but I can’t resist a good ghost story. So going on a ghost-hunting trip to Oxford and staying at the Malmaison hotel, a former prison – well, I was fully prepared for a sleepless night.
Led by Wayne Spurrier of the UK’s leading ghost-hunt events company Haunted Happenings, I headed for Oxford Castle. Armed with dowsing rods, which connect with any energy in the room, a K-2 meter, which picks up the electrical energy pulses spirits are said to give off, and a Ouija board, there was no way – in my mind – that we wouldn’t make contact.
Roosevelt once said the only thing that we have to fear is fear itself. And in this instance I have to agree. Sadly we didn’t find any ghosts, although one of our group did feel ‘breath’ on her cheek – a natural breeze, or a real spirit? Who knows, but that night, the lights in my room stayed on.
www.hauntedhappenings.co.uk
www.malmaison.com
www.visitengland.com
Here are a few of Britain’s other spooky destinations…
JACK THE RIPPER’S LONDON
The killer who stalked Whitechapel 125 years ago was dubbed Jack the Ripper. But who exactly was he? This conundrum remains a source of dark fascination and visitors can take a Jack the Ripper tour of Spitalfi elds and Petticoat Lane, the area associated with his killings. Or, hear the story at The London Dungeon.
020-8530-8443, www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com
THE PENDLE WITCHES, LANCASHIRE
In August 1612, 10 people were found guilty of witchcraft at Lancaster Castle and executed on the moors. Visitors can walk the Lancaster witches trail, which starts at Pendle Hill and follows the route the witches took through the Ribble Valley to Lancaster Castle where they stood trial. At the castle, visitors can take a guided tour to see the dungeons where they were imprisoned, and the courtroom where they were tried.
01524-64998, www.lancastercastle.com
TUDOR TERROR AT THE TOWER OF LONDON
An iconic London landmark, it was during Tudor times that the Tower had its bloodiest period, when the cells and torture chambers were rarely empty. Send yourself to the Tower and see the Crown Jewels, try on a suit of armour and learn about the legendary black ravens.
0844-482 7777, www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon
MURDER AND WITCHCRAFT AT OXFORD CASTLE
With a history of murder, witchcraft, imprisonment and execution, it is reported to be one of the most haunted locations in the country.
The castle is said to be haunted by a number of ghosts, including a 12thcentury monk who pulls the hair of visitors to the 900-year-old crypt, and a man who hanged himself in the castle in 1761 and still can be seen (apparently) in the Debtor’s Tower.
Visitors can also explore the well chamber and prison cells, or you can go on a Haunted Happenings tour of the building. 01865-260666, www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk
DERBY: A HAUNTING EXPERIENCE
A trip to Derby could haunt you for a lifetime – it is famous for being the last place in England where some poor victim was hung, drawn and quartered, and is the venue for the last death by pressing in the country.
The spirit of executioner John Crossland, a criminal who earned a pardon for carrying out the death sentence on his own father and brother, roams Derby Cathedral; Alice Wheeldon, accused of plotting the murder of PM David Lloyd, haunts the Guildhall; and let’s not forget the victims of the Black Death who were buried alive at St Peter’s churchyard. Go on a ghost walk with Most Haunted’s Richard Felix, or hold an overnight vigil in the Derby Gaol.
01332-643411, www.visitderby.co.uk
Warwick Castle
PARANORMAL NOTTINGHAM
The Galleries of Justice museum tells the stories behind Nottingham’s outlaws, who are brought to life in the very building in which they were judged, imprisoned and executed. The old courthouse and gaol has been voted the ‘most haunted building in the UK’ by paranormal investigators Fright Nights.
0115-952 0555, www.galleriesofjustice.org.uk
TEWKESBURY’S BLOODY MEADOWS
The battle of Tewkesbury took place on 4 May 1471. The slaughter of the Lancastrians on the battlefi eld led to the area being known as the Bloody Meadows. Today, the battlefield is easily accessed, and there are selfguided trails, explaining what happened on the day. On 13 and 14 July, the famous battle is recreated with the help of hundreds of actors.
01684-855040, www.visittewkesbury.info
WARWICK CASTLE’S GHASTLY PAST
The Watergate Tower is said to be haunted by Sir Falke Greville, onetime owner of the castle, who was murdered by his manservant. It’s also said that the ghost of a young maid, who was blocked up behind one of the walls after giving birth to her master’s child, wanders the Kingmaker area. Earlier this year the castle unlocked four previously unseen rooms, which make for a fascinating visit.
01926-495421, www.warwick-castle.com
ANNE BOLEYN’S GHOST
Blickling Hall, the 16th-century estate near Aylsham in Norfolk is a treasure trove of romantic buildings and beautiful gardens. However, it is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Anne Boleyn. The apparition is said to appear every year on 19 May, the anniversary of her execution. Her ghost draws up to the door of the stately home in a carriage driven by a headless coachman.
01263-738030, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/blickling-estate
WOOKEY CAVES, SOMERSET
Legend has it that in the Dark Ages, an old woman lived alone deep in the Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset. She was branded a witch and all local mishaps and problems were blamed on her. Eventually, a Holy Clerk of Glastonbury exorcised the witch and turned her to stone. Her frozen figure remains in this cavern, known as The Witch’s Kitchen. You can also catch a glimpse of the Wookey witch’s skeleton, which is on display at Somerset’s Wells & Mendip Museum.
01749-672243, www.wookey.co.uk
RAMBLERS WORLDWIDE HOLIDAYS
Ramblers Worldwide Holidays is the expert in guided walking adventures across the globe. The company pioneered the concept of walking holidays in 1946 when it arranged for 600 clients to travel to Denmark, Sweden, the French Alps, Tunisia, Andorra, Provence, Corsica, Paris and the Ardennes – an achievement in the painful aftermath of the Second World War. Today the company offers a choice of more than 250 destinations in 70 countries. Trips include birdwatching in Spain, Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago and Chile; cooking and walking in Tuscany; flora and walking in the French Riviera, Greece, Madeira, Menorca and South Africa; rail journeys in Morocco, South Africa and New York; as well as snowshoeing and skiing.
01707-331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk
LOAD OFF YOUR BACK
For those who wish to walk independently, there is Load Off Your Back, which offers a range of exciting, self-guided and flexible walking tours.
01707-386800, www.loadoffyourback.co.uk
WALK2WALK HOLIDAYS
Find a great-value rambling holiday with Walk2Walk Holidays throughout Europe. There is a choice of stunning routes, such as a trek to the summit of Mt Zugspitze in Bavaria or the iconic Camino de Santiago trail in Spain. The company also pioneers Nordic walking holidays in the UK.
0800-731 1631, www.walk2walkholidays.com
HF HOLIDAYS
HF Holidays offers a variety of vacations across the UK, from the Lake District to the Scottish Highlands. There is also a selection of international destinations, from Italy to Tasmania, Ireland to Jordan, with sightseeing days and different levels of walks offered on many of the trips.
0845-163 6878, www.hfholidays.co.uk
Led by Wayne Spurrier of the UK’s leading ghost-hunt events company Haunted Happenings, I headed for Oxford Castle. Armed with dowsing rods, which connect with any energy in the room, a K-2 meter, which picks up the electrical energy pulses spirits are said to give off, and a Ouija board, there was no way – in my mind – that we wouldn’t make contact.
Roosevelt once said the only thing that we have to fear is fear itself. And in this instance I have to agree. Sadly we didn’t find any ghosts, although one of our group did feel ‘breath’ on her cheek – a natural breeze, or a real spirit? Who knows, but that night, the lights in my room stayed on.
www.hauntedhappenings.co.uk
www.malmaison.com
www.visitengland.com
Here are a few of Britain’s other spooky destinations…
JACK THE RIPPER’S LONDON
The killer who stalked Whitechapel 125 years ago was dubbed Jack the Ripper. But who exactly was he? This conundrum remains a source of dark fascination and visitors can take a Jack the Ripper tour of Spitalfi elds and Petticoat Lane, the area associated with his killings. Or, hear the story at The London Dungeon.
020-8530-8443, www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com
THE PENDLE WITCHES, LANCASHIRE
In August 1612, 10 people were found guilty of witchcraft at Lancaster Castle and executed on the moors. Visitors can walk the Lancaster witches trail, which starts at Pendle Hill and follows the route the witches took through the Ribble Valley to Lancaster Castle where they stood trial. At the castle, visitors can take a guided tour to see the dungeons where they were imprisoned, and the courtroom where they were tried.
01524-64998, www.lancastercastle.com
TUDOR TERROR AT THE TOWER OF LONDON
An iconic London landmark, it was during Tudor times that the Tower had its bloodiest period, when the cells and torture chambers were rarely empty. Send yourself to the Tower and see the Crown Jewels, try on a suit of armour and learn about the legendary black ravens.
0844-482 7777, www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon
MURDER AND WITCHCRAFT AT OXFORD CASTLE
With a history of murder, witchcraft, imprisonment and execution, it is reported to be one of the most haunted locations in the country.
The castle is said to be haunted by a number of ghosts, including a 12thcentury monk who pulls the hair of visitors to the 900-year-old crypt, and a man who hanged himself in the castle in 1761 and still can be seen (apparently) in the Debtor’s Tower.
Visitors can also explore the well chamber and prison cells, or you can go on a Haunted Happenings tour of the building. 01865-260666, www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk
DERBY: A HAUNTING EXPERIENCE
A trip to Derby could haunt you for a lifetime – it is famous for being the last place in England where some poor victim was hung, drawn and quartered, and is the venue for the last death by pressing in the country.
The spirit of executioner John Crossland, a criminal who earned a pardon for carrying out the death sentence on his own father and brother, roams Derby Cathedral; Alice Wheeldon, accused of plotting the murder of PM David Lloyd, haunts the Guildhall; and let’s not forget the victims of the Black Death who were buried alive at St Peter’s churchyard. Go on a ghost walk with Most Haunted’s Richard Felix, or hold an overnight vigil in the Derby Gaol.
01332-643411, www.visitderby.co.uk
Warwick Castle PARANORMAL NOTTINGHAM
0115-952 0555, www.galleriesofjustice.org.uk
TEWKESBURY’S BLOODY MEADOWS
The battle of Tewkesbury took place on 4 May 1471. The slaughter of the Lancastrians on the battlefi eld led to the area being known as the Bloody Meadows. Today, the battlefield is easily accessed, and there are selfguided trails, explaining what happened on the day. On 13 and 14 July, the famous battle is recreated with the help of hundreds of actors.
01684-855040, www.visittewkesbury.info
WARWICK CASTLE’S GHASTLY PAST
The Watergate Tower is said to be haunted by Sir Falke Greville, onetime owner of the castle, who was murdered by his manservant. It’s also said that the ghost of a young maid, who was blocked up behind one of the walls after giving birth to her master’s child, wanders the Kingmaker area. Earlier this year the castle unlocked four previously unseen rooms, which make for a fascinating visit.
01926-495421, www.warwick-castle.com
ANNE BOLEYN’S GHOST
Blickling Hall, the 16th-century estate near Aylsham in Norfolk is a treasure trove of romantic buildings and beautiful gardens. However, it is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Anne Boleyn. The apparition is said to appear every year on 19 May, the anniversary of her execution. Her ghost draws up to the door of the stately home in a carriage driven by a headless coachman.
01263-738030, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/blickling-estate
WOOKEY CAVES, SOMERSET
Legend has it that in the Dark Ages, an old woman lived alone deep in the Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset. She was branded a witch and all local mishaps and problems were blamed on her. Eventually, a Holy Clerk of Glastonbury exorcised the witch and turned her to stone. Her frozen figure remains in this cavern, known as The Witch’s Kitchen. You can also catch a glimpse of the Wookey witch’s skeleton, which is on display at Somerset’s Wells & Mendip Museum.
01749-672243, www.wookey.co.uk
Walks for the faint hearted
If spooky walks aren’t your thing, you could find something a little less ghoulish on a rambling holiday…RAMBLERS WORLDWIDE HOLIDAYS
Ramblers Worldwide Holidays is the expert in guided walking adventures across the globe. The company pioneered the concept of walking holidays in 1946 when it arranged for 600 clients to travel to Denmark, Sweden, the French Alps, Tunisia, Andorra, Provence, Corsica, Paris and the Ardennes – an achievement in the painful aftermath of the Second World War. Today the company offers a choice of more than 250 destinations in 70 countries. Trips include birdwatching in Spain, Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago and Chile; cooking and walking in Tuscany; flora and walking in the French Riviera, Greece, Madeira, Menorca and South Africa; rail journeys in Morocco, South Africa and New York; as well as snowshoeing and skiing.
01707-331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk
LOAD OFF YOUR BACK
For those who wish to walk independently, there is Load Off Your Back, which offers a range of exciting, self-guided and flexible walking tours.
01707-386800, www.loadoffyourback.co.uk
WALK2WALK HOLIDAYS
Find a great-value rambling holiday with Walk2Walk Holidays throughout Europe. There is a choice of stunning routes, such as a trek to the summit of Mt Zugspitze in Bavaria or the iconic Camino de Santiago trail in Spain. The company also pioneers Nordic walking holidays in the UK.
0800-731 1631, www.walk2walkholidays.com
HF HOLIDAYS
HF Holidays offers a variety of vacations across the UK, from the Lake District to the Scottish Highlands. There is also a selection of international destinations, from Italy to Tasmania, Ireland to Jordan, with sightseeing days and different levels of walks offered on many of the trips.
0845-163 6878, www.hfholidays.co.uk