Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Legends

Ancient Sites / Devil / Earth Works / Folklore / Legends

Winklebury Camp

Local folklore suggests that if you walk around the Iron Age hillfort seven times at midnight, the Devil will appear on a large black horse and grant one wish.

Only brave people should attempt this as the Devil will always try to trick people into losing their souls to him.

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Articles / King Arthur / Legends / Merlin

Glastonbury Arthur’s Avalon

Beside the main roads leading into the dreamy Somerset town of Glastonbury, are a series of signboards welcoming all to ‘The Ancient Avalon’, and causing a nationwide controversy. Glastonbury claims to be Avalon, to be the final resting place of King Arthur, and the site to which the Holy Grail was borne to by Joseph of Arimethea.

Folklore / Legends

Wookey Hole

Wookey Hole is famed for "The Witch of Wookey" a giant stalagmite, which resembles a witches face in profile. Folklore tells that the stalagmite was once a witch who terrorised the local area, and was petrified by the intervention of a Glastonbury monk.

Dragons / Legends / Nordic Pantheons / Pantheons

Shervage Wood

Shervage Wood has is home to a number of traditions, perhaps because it was once perceived as being enchanted. In legend and folklore the wood was the home of a dragon known as The Gurt Vurm of Shervage Wood. The dragon was said to have the girth of at least three mature oak trees, and was the bane of the local villages eating cattle and making a general nuisance of itself.

Ancient Sites / Giants / King Arthur / Legends

Brent Knoll

The hill, which was once and Iron Age hillfort, is associated with an Arthurian Legend, and was the abode of three fearsome giants.

Ancient Sites / Buried Treasure / Dragons / King Arthur / Legends

Cadbury Castle

This large hillfort has a plethora of traditions attached to it, most notably that it is the site of the legendary Camelot, the stronghold of Arthur. There is a distinct possibility that the historical Arthur – probably a sixth century war leader – had his base here, as the Iron Age hillfort was reoccupied and refortified around this time.

Apparitions / Hauntings / Legends

Curry Mallet

The Manor House (Mallet Court) was in the hands of the Mallet family for over 900 years until it was sold in the 1980’s. Amongst its many visitors, the manor house can boast William the Conqueror, King John and Henry the II. The site was originally the site of a Saxon stronghold, and before that there may have been a Roman settlement there.

Ancient Sites / Apparitions / Buried Treasure / Hauntings / Legends / Standing Stones

Caractacus Stone

This standing stone has a number of traditions associated with it, it looks very much like a Neolithic standing stone, although sources suggest that it actually dates to the fifth century, during the end of the Roman occupation. The name of the stone is certainly of Roman origin although it may have been old during the Roman period.

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / Legends / Wells

The Chalice Well, Glastonbury

The Chalice Well has been associated with healing and with the Holy Grail for many years. According to legend Joseph of Arimethea placed the cup that held the blood of Christ into the well. The waters run red with Iron Oxide another association with blood.