Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Mysterious Britain & Ireland

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Featured Group / Haunted Hotels / Haunted Pubs / Hauntings / Interview

An Interview With Andrew Homer

Following the recent release of ‘Haunted Hostelries of Shropshire’, published by Amberley Press and featuring some of the best haunted pubs and hotels in and around the county, I took the opportunity to put a few questions to its author, Andrew Homer, who I’ve known for several years now after we served together on the board of directors of ASSAP (The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomal

Devil / Folklore / Folktales / Hauntings / Legends / Welsh Folktales

The Devil’s Tree, Llanrhos

The following account entitled ‘The Devil’s Tree by Eglwys Rhos’ appeared in Elias Owen’s ‘Welsh Folk-lore’ (1887). ‘At the corner of the first turning after passing the village of Llanrhos*, on the left hand side, is a withered oak tree, called by the natives of those parts the Devil’s Tree, and it was thought to be haunted, and therefore the young and timid were afraid to pass it

Ancient Sites / Buried Treasure / Standing Stones / Stone Circles

Bryn Gwyn Standing Stones

These are two giant standing stones, probably two of the tallest in Wales, standing thirteen feet and ten feet tall. They are situated in a field, and actually form part of the field boundary. The stones were recorded as being part of a stone circle the 17th Century, but the circle was allegedly demolished in 19th Century, by locals looking for buried treasure.

Ancient Sites / Roman

Castell Bryn Gwyn

There is much speculation over the age and use of Castell Bryn Gwyn (White Hill Castle). It was not a hillfort, being built on flat land, but excavations in 1959-1960 discovered that the rampart and ditch were similar to hillfort defences. It may have been a Neolithic henge monument, but nevertheless, there has been a long history of occupation at the site.

Ancient Sites

Moel Offrwm (Lower Hillfort)

Being only 0.5 acres in area, and built on a small prominent rock, this fort did not have much room for a settlement, but due to its natural defences and its high wall, it would have been easy to defend. Evidence has been found for a single six metre diameter roundhouse within the fort, so it would only have housed a handful of people.

Ancient Sites

Moel Faner Hillfort

With an entrance facing towards the north-east, this oval shaped hillfort is probably from the Iron Age. It lies at a height of 950 feet, on a promontory of a hill overlooking the Nannau estate and the Mawddach valley. The fort was small, being about 0.5 acres and the single wall enclosing the fort would have been about six feet high, but it is now quite trampled.