Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Midwife For A Nixie

A midwife in Westerhausen was sitting one evening at home when someone knocked on her window and shouted that she should come outside. She did so, and there stood a nix, who told her to follow him. They walked to the Beck [a deep pond near Westerhausen], and the nix took a rod and struck the water with it. The water separated, and with dry feet they walked to the bottom.

The Midwife Of Listowel

"Why do you call the fairies ‘good people?’" asked I.
"I don’t call them the good people myself," answered Duvane, "but that is what the man called them who told me the story. Some call them the good people to avoid vexing them. I think they are called the good people mostly by pious men and women, who say that they are some of the fallen angels."

Bryn Cader Faner Hut Circles

In the hills above Talsarnau, to the south west of Bryn Cader Faner can be found the ruins of some prehistoric stone circular structures. It is probably the remains of some early inhabited settlement in the area.

Bryn Cader Faner

This is probably one of the most impressive Bronze Age cairn remains in Wales. It has 18 upright slender jagged pillars giving the sense of a coronet, and has a footprint diameter of 8.7 metres. It is supposed that the cairn was used to intern the dead, and it has been damaged by treasure hunters over the years, with the centre of the cairn being dug out.

Llyn Cowlyd

On the edge of the Carneddau range of mountains in Snowdonia lays the deepest lake in North Wales, Llyn Cowlyd. The lake has been dammed so it is unnaturally deep, but it has given soundings of 229 feet, and has a mean depth of 109 feet. The lake is almost 2 miles long, and a third of a mile wide, with the adjacent hills dropping steeply to the lakes edges.

Danish Elf Midwife

According to ‘The Science of Fairy Tales’ (1891) by Edwin Sidney Hartland ‘A Danish tradition tells of a woman who was taken by an elf on Christmas Eve down into the earth to attend his wife.

Earthman And The Midwife

In The Science of Fairy Tales (1891), Edwin Sidney Hartland gives the following account of a Swabian* story where a human midwife is called to aid an Earthman’s wife (a name given to this type of fairy) give birth.

Maes Artro Heritage Museum, now Artro Lodges

The Maes Artro Heritage Museum is no longer open to the public; it closed down several years ago. There is now a holiday park on the site, although some of the museum buildings are currently still standing, although derelict. Historically, the site was connected with RAF Llanbedr (1941- 2004). It served as a training camp (RAF’s No.

Farmer Who Lost His Way

According to ‘The Science of Fairy Tales’ (1891) by Edwin Sidney Hartland, ‘A Manx tale, which can be traced back to (George) Waldron, narrates the night adventure of a farmer who lost his way in returning home from Peel, and was led by the sound of music into a large hall where were a great number of little people feasting.