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Arthurian Legends, Folklore and Ghosts


An old photograph of Carmarthen, Wales.

Merlin's Oak

Location: Carmarthen (Dyfed) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An old prophecy, reportedly spoken by Merlin, states that one day the entire town will sink beneath the ground when a sacred tree falls. The tree in question, known as Merlin's Oak, was dug up from its location on the corner of Oak Lane and Priory Street and placed in the Civic Hall in 1978.

Arthur's Hunting Lodge

Location: Castle-an-Dinas (Cornwall) - General area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This area was, according to local legend, the site of King Arthur's hunting lodge.

Thrown Aside

Location: Cefn Bryn (West Glamorgan) - Arthur's Stone (Neolithic burial ground)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: This stone is said to have been found by King Arthur in his shoe as he passed through Llanelli en route to Camlann. He tossed the stone to one side and it landed here, some five miles distant.

Knight in Shining Armour

Location: Cefyn Bryn (West Glamorgan) - Arthur's Stone (aka Arthur's Quoit?)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Nights of a full moon
Further Comments: Wearing gleaming armour, this figure emerges from under the stone and walks off towards Llandrhidian.


An old photograph of ivy-covered Chepstow Castle.

Sleeping King

Location: Chepstow (Gwent) - Chepstow Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A cave under the castle was once explored by a man who claimed to have seen King Arthur and his knights. He fled after making noise which made the knights stir.

Celliwig

Location: Coedkernew (Gwent) - Neolithic burial chamber
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: It has been suggested this site was once King Arthur's court.

Vortigern's Tower

Location: Dinas Emrys (Gwynedd) - Thought to be location where the spring can be found
Type: Dragon
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Every time construction started on Vortigern's Tower, it collapsed. Vortigern asked the druids why this was, and they recommended sacrificing a boy to settle the earth. A young lad was brought, but he told Vortigern that the tower fell because two mighty dragons fought beneath the ground in a stone chest. This boy grew up to become Merlin.


Dover Castle, Kent.

Headless Drummer

Location: Dover (Kent) - Dover Castle
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mostly unknown, soldier seen 02 November 2013
Further Comments: The headless drummer boy is said to date from the Napoleonic period. A lady in red and figure in blue have also been reported, while the tunnels under the castle are haunted by Second World War soldiers and operatives, perhaps escapees from Dunkirk - one figure in khaki and with a blurred face was seen walking purposefully along a corridor in 2013. The Arthurian hero Sir Gawain is reportedly buried here.

Merlin's Grave

Location: Drumelzier (Borders) - Thorn tree in a meadow close to the church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to one legend, the mighty magician Merlin was killed by shepherds close to this spot and was promptly buried.

Mount of Frogs

Location: East Brent (Somerset) - Brent Knoll
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Ider the Arthurian knight killed three giants on this hill, known at the time as the Mount of Frogs.

White Mount

Location: EC3 (Greater London) - Tower of London, general area
Type: Legend
Date / Time: NA
Further Comments: The Tower of London was once known as the White Mount, and it was said Bran the Blessed head was buried beneath the structure to ensure Britain was never invaded. One story says that Arthur removed the head, as he alone wished to be the country's saviour.

Holy Grail

Location: Fowey (Cornwall) - Castle Dore
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: According to Arthurian legend, the Grail was once housed at this hillfort.

Knight of the Round Table

Location: Fowey (Cornwall) - The Tristan Stone
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This stone is thought to have marked the position of the grave of one of the knights of the round table, though it has been moved at least once since being placed.

Waiting Arthur

Location: Gerrick (Yorkshire) - Freebrough Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One of the many places scattered across the UK which may be where Arthur and his knights await the day they are needed to come to Britain's aid.

Holy Grail

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Chalice Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Well still present
Further Comments: After the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea brought the Grail to England and buried it so the waters that feed the well wash over the object.


Old postcard of Glastonbury Tor.

Fairy King

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Glastonbury Tor
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local legend has it that St Collen visited the head of the fairy royal family on this hill. A woman, named by some to be Queen Guinevere, is also said to manifest over the Tor, and possesses golden hair that illuminates the area.


Old postcard of Wirrall Hill, Glastonbury.

First Church in Britain

Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Wirrall Hill (sometimes known as Wearyall Hill) and abbey
Type: Legend
Date / Time: AD63 (ish)
Further Comments: The abbey, of which only the ruins remain, was built on top of the first Christian church in the UK. A holy well located here once cured the sick. Monks based here in the twelfth century claimed to have discovered the bones of King Arthur on the site, though little evidence exists to back this claim up.

Lollard Girl

Location: Gradbach (Staffordshire) - Lud's Church (a local chasm), also known as Ludchurch
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Following a banned religion during the 1400's, the Lorrards used this place to worship. Alice, a member of the family, was killed as soldiers raided the illegal gathering and now her ghost frequents the spot over her grave. Wayne Anthony writes that the area is also reportedly the site where Sir Gawain killed the Green Knight.

Murdered Chieftain

Location: Haydon Bridge (Northumberland) - Cummings Cross
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Cummings, a Northern chieftain who met with King Arthur, was given a golden cup as a token of friendship. Depending on which version of legend you believe, on the way back to his camp the chieftain was murdered for the cup, by either his own sons or those of Arthur. When Arthur found out, he erected a cross to remember the chieftain.

Sewingshield Castle

Location: Haydon Bridge (Northumberland) - Sewingshield Crags
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Sewingshield Castle, demolished in the nineteenth century, was one of King Arthur's temporary homes. It is also one of the places where Arthur, Guinevere and many knights rest under the earth, waiting until needed.

Pendragon

Location: Kirkby Stephen (Cumbria) - Pendragon Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Castle still stands (on private land)
Further Comments: Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur, resided here until he and a hundred of his men were poisoned by the Saxon invaders. Some believe Pendragon's ghost remains here. Another ghost, that of Sir Hugh de Morville, haunts the building as punishment for murdering Thomas Becket. Finally, a hoard of treasure hidden here is protected by a phantom black hen that replaces the soil of any hole dug just as quick as it is removed!


The sea between Cornwall and Scilly Isles.

Lyonesse

Location: Land's End (Cornwall) - Between Cornwall and Scilly Isles
Type: Other
Date / Time: 25 December (bells) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: This mythical land was once said to connect Cornwall to the Scilly Isles - as recently as the early twentieth century, people claimed to be able to see flooded woodland between the two land masses. Some legends say that Merlin sank Lyonesse as Mordred's men tried to escape across it, while others say it sank after a judgement from Heaven. On Christmas day, 149 submerged bells are said to ring and in days gone by, Cornish fishermen would sail out and listen to the undersea music.

Gereint

Location: Langport (Somerset) - Location of battle unknown
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Gereint was slain fighting by Arthur's side, engaging Saxons at the battle of Llongborth.

Mount Badon

Location: Linlithgow (Lothian) - Boudon Hill, also known as Buden Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This is one of the locations named as the legendary battlefield of Mount Badon, where Arthur fought one of his most important battles.

Fiddling Fairies

Location: Llangollen (Clwyd) - Castell Dinas Bran
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An innocent shepherd here was caught up in a fairy dance - he could not stop 'strutting his funky stuff' until the following day, when his master found him in a field. The location is also a contender for the resting place of the Holy Grail.

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