Location: Vigeans (Angus) - Church of St Vigeans
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1736
Further Comments: Legend said that building materials for the church were carried into position by a water kelpie. The creature said if anyone working for the church ever took their own life, the church would sink into a great lake which lay deep under the building. In the eighteenth century the minister of the parish committed suicide and some stories say many people gathered near the church to watch it being consumed into the ground. Needless to say, many people were also left disappointed when their expectations were not met.
An old stone carving showing a pair of griffins.
Location: W5 (Greater London) - Brentwood Eyot and general area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A griffin given by King Charles II to Nell Gwynn made its home on the Brentwood Eyot, joined by another one many years later which was brought to the region by Sir Joseph Banks. The pair of mythological creatures are said by some to remain in the area.
An old postcard of Wadebridge.
Location: Wadebridge (Cornwall) - Exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: September 2007
Further Comments: This medium-sized marsupial was spotted in Cornwall.
Location: Wast Water (Cumbria) - Water of the lake
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: England's deepest lake is reportedly home to an unknown creature several metres in length.
An old woodcut of a tall, strange-looking, bird.
Location: WC1 (Greater London) - Old Chambers, Lincoln's Inn (no longer standing)
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1901
Further Comments: Charles Appleby was found dead in his room, large claw marks on his arms and neck, the door and windows locked from the inside. Witnesses outside the building who could see into his room through a window said they could see the man fighting a shadowy bird like creature, though it was at least the same size as Appleby. Reports of the creature continued for a while afterwards, and one team of investigators who put down chalk dust during their stakeout recording finding large claw marks in the powder the following day.
Location: West Bilney (Norfolk) - West Bilney Hall
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1897, 1908
Further Comments: Barn owls observed throughout Norfolk were reportedly glowing in the dark, as if they were large fireflies.
Location: West Wemyss (Fife) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1939
Further Comments: A six metre long monster with the head and mane of a horse and large eyes was spotted by a team of fishermen.
Location: Westcliff on Sea (Essex) - Mouth of the Thames
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: August 1923
Further Comments: Two crew members, one of whom being the captain, spotted a two metre long snakelike neck twice rise from the river, the monster's head briefly looking around before vanishing.
Location: Western coast (Isle of Man) - Sea
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1910
Further Comments: The Captain of the HMS Caesar reported seeing a reptilian creature leaping out the sea, which he compared to a 'skinned chow dog'(!), though much larger in size.
An old postcard showing Weston-super-Mere beach.
Location: Weston-super-Mere (Somerset) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 02 December 1988
Further Comments: Three witnesses watched for several minutes a strange creature possessing a long neck swimming around in the mist covered sea.
Location: Weymouth (Dorset) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1990s and 1757?
Further Comments: A creature which had the top half of a sea-horse but with the bottom part silver and covered in fins was spotted here by one witness reportedly hesitant in speaking of the sighting until they came across an earlier account describing a similar creature.
Location: Whalsay (Shetland) - Exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A water horse known as a Nygole was found by a traveller returning from the kriegs at Skura. Mistaking the creature for a normal horse, the traveller mounted it, only realising his mistake after the Nygole set off at a fantastic speed. The traveller escaped the creature after driving his knife into its back.
A woodcut of a cockatrice, part dragon, part cockerel creature.
Location: Wherwell (Hampshire) - Wherwell Priory
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Taking up residence under the priory, this monster was finally killed (after many, many failed attempts) when a man named Green tricked it into attacking a large, mirrored sheet of polished steel - when it dropped to the floor semi-conscious, he penetrated its scales with a spear. The building is also reported haunted by a couple of nuns.
Location: Whitburn (Lothian) - Polkemmet Country Park
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 25 August 2009
Further Comments: Keith McDowell reported seeing an Alsatian sized creature, silver in colour with a black streak running along its back, with a bushy tail. The animal was circling calves in a field, before running off into the nearby country park.
Location: Wick (Highland) - Off the coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 21 September 1938
Further Comments: The crew of a cargo ship reported having a strange fish follow their craft for half an hour. It was described as having a three metre long body, 1.2 metre long neck and an oval head.
Location: Wickham Market (Suffolk) - Railway Line
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 24 May 2012
Further Comments: A rhea, though referred to as an ostrich in the local press, spotted on the line between Ipswich and Saxmundham forced a train to slow near Wickham Market.
Location: Winterfold (Surrey) - Unknown road, near deserted mansion
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 16 December 1967
Further Comments: A driver who had pulled over to wipe his windscreen spotted a strange creature standing around 140 centimetres tall, with a glowing, oblong shaped head. The beast emanated an acrid smell. The driver jumped back into his car and quickly drove off.
Location: Wolverhampton (West Midlands) - Peel Street and Brickkiln Street
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Winter, 1933-1934
Further Comments: After several attacks on children by an unknown creature, one seventeen year old boy managed to kill the 'monster'. No one could identify the creature, larger than a rat with bulging eyes, although another unknown entity was found dead within 24 hours and was named as a coatimundi, a mammal from the raccoon family.
Location: Woodseaves (Staffordshire) - Bridge along Birmingham/Liverpool Canal
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 21 January 1879
Further Comments: This strange black creature with glowing white eyes leapt onto the back of a horse pulling a cart - when its owner tried to hit the mysterious creature, his whip passed straight through its body.
Location: Wookey Hole (Somerset) - Flooded Caverns
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A huge eel, some ten metres in length was chased into this cave system by angry fishermen.
Location: Yarrow (Borders) - St Mary's Loch
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A farmer managed to capture and breed a herd of the mythical water cows found in the loch. His herd returned to the loch when the mother of the cattle called out from the water - the roar caused nearby hills to shake.
The Trow, a malignant member of the fairy family.
Location: Yell (Shetland) - Area around Windhouse, exact spot said to be known to the local population.
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Pre-mid-Eighteenth century, Christmas Eve
Further Comments: A shipwrecked sailor made his way to Windhouse on Christmas Eve, only to find the family in the process of leaving. They explained to the sailor that every Christmas Eve, terrible things would happen, and a death would normally occur. The sailor offered to spend the night in the house, and sure enough, after sunset, the sailor encountered a huge Trow. The sailor grabbed an axe and gave chase, catching up with the creature outside and giving it a whack (or two). When the family returned home, the sailor took them to the spot, where the body had vanished, leaving only bright green holly.
Location: Zennor (Cornwall) - Cairn which was known as 'Burning 'Mountain', on the road between Zennor and St Ives
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A serpent took up residence here and prevented people travelling to the St Ives market. The scrubland around the cairn was set ablaze, either killing the serpent or driving it away.