| The Black Down Hills |
The Black Downs have a long tradition as a haunt of the fairies, and stories tell of many sightings as recently as a few hundred years ago, when many country folk believed we shared this land with supernatural denizens.
One story tells how a local schoolmaster came across a group of fairies dancing in a ring when he was crossing the downs at sundown. The fairies were also though to hold a fair upon the hills.
The Black Downs are also the home of the Holman Clavel Inn, which resides near Blagdon. The Inn was said to house a spirit known as 'Chimbley Charlie', a kind of protective hearth spirit once thought to reside in many homes. In one tale the spirit spoils a dinner for a farmer that he does not like by cleaning the table of all cutlery just before the farmer arrives. The family took it as an omen that the farmer was not welcome, and the meal was abandoned. There are similar tales from all over the country, describing the mischievous pranks of home spirits most commonly known as Boggarts or Brownies.
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| Map ref:ST 1515 |
| Directions:The Blackdown Hills are found to teh South of Wellington. |
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| Minehead |
Minehead is the scene of the Obby Oss Festival April 30th, May 1st -3rd.
The oss or horse is a covered wooden frame with a painted head at the centre bedecked with ribbons. The Oss meets the rising sun early on the 1st of May. In some stories this festival is said to date to a time when the local people scared away Norse invaders by disguising their ship as a sea serpent.
Minehead was also the scene for the seventeenth century ghost of Mrs Leaky 'The Whistling Spectre'. Mrs Leaky was a well-liked and respected figure in the neighbourhood, where she lived with her son and daughter in law. Her son being a successful ship-owner. After her death it seemed that she could not rest in her grave, and started to haunt the area. Her spirit was blamed for many local tragedies, including whistling up the wind to wreck her son's boats, and frightening people in the lonely roads, amongst other mischief. Charles the I sent a royal commission to the town to investigate the reports of her malevolent spectre. Eventually an Irish bishop was called upon to exorcise the ghost, which was successful, although she is still said to roam the vicinity of Culver Cliffs.
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| Map ref:SS 9746 |
| Directions:Reached form the A35. |
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