Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Ancient Sites

Ancient Sites / Fairies / Folklore / Legends / Wells

Giggleswick

The ebbing and flowing well: legend tells how a nymph was being chased by a satyr who was overcome with lust. The nymph prayed to the gods and was saved by being turned into a well – famous for healing. The only thing that remained of the nymph was her eternal breath that causes the well to ebb and flow like the tides.

Ancient Sites / Devil / Legends / Standing Stones

The Devil’s Arrows

The Devil’s Arrows are three Neolithic Megaliths – the tallest of which is 23 feet high – standing in a crooked alignment of around 580 feet. The fourth stone was destroyed in the 16th century, when Camden noted that it had been pulled down by treasure seekers.

In legend they were thrown by the Devil from Howe Hill to destroy Aldborough, hence their common name.

Ancient Sites

The Bridestones

The Bridestones are a set of natural weathered stones that are thought to have been used for ancient worship. A weathered horned head is carved into one of the stones, the date of the carving unknown.

Directions: To the East of the A169 Northeast of Lockton.

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity

Ruthwell Cross

The cross is thought to date back to the late seventh century, an early period in the development of Christianity in the area, which spread here from Northumberland. It has been recognised as one of the most important early Christian crosses in Britain.

Ancient Sites / Stone Circles

The Twelve Apostles (Stone Circle)

The twelve apostles, although the largest stone circle in Scotland and the fifth in Britain, tends to be overlooked because it is not visually that impressive. The circle consists of eleven squat boulders of a probable twelve, constructed in a flattened circle, some 88M in diameter at its widest.

Ancient Sites / Wells

St Queran’s Well

The water was believed to have healing properties and is dedicated to a 9th century saint. Proof of a long tradition of leaving items at the well was discovered when the well was cleared in 1870: hundreds of coins, bent pins and other objects were discovered beneath the mud. Some of these can still be seen in the Dumfries Museum.

Ancient Sites / Apparitions / Early Christianity / Featured Sites / Hauntings / Legends

Rosslyn Chapel & Roslin Castle

Rosslyn Chapel is touted as being one of the most mysterious places in Scotland, especially with the current gloat of books purporting to show how hidden secrets lurk within every crack of stone at this venerated place. Anybody who has ever visited the chapel may feel that it deserves its current status, and I must confess the atmosphere even on a busy day is something to be experienced.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / King Arthur / Legends

Bedd Arthur

The whole area around Dyfed is associated with Arthur, outlined in the old Welsh tales now part of the Mabinogion. This cairn on the hilltop is thought to be Arthur’s Grave.

Directions: The grave is in the Prescely Mountains

Ancient Sites / Apparitions / Early Christianity / Folklore / Hauntings

Strata Florida Abbey

The abbey was founded in early part of the 13th century by the Cistercian monks, and was one of the grandest in Wales at its height. It was seen as a centre of education and political activity. The abbey was destroyed during the reformation.

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / Hauntings / King Arthur / Legends / Mabinogion / Wells

St Non’s Chapel and St David’s Peninsula

St David’s Peninsula is supposedly the landing place of Twrch Trwyth, the magical boar told in the story of Culhwch and Olwen in the Mabinogion, King Arthur features heavily in the story. It is also the place where St Patrick is said to have sailed for Ireland to convert them to Christianity.