Spooky St Briavels

Hello everyone,
We've made it to Bath after an adventure filled week. Our time in the Cotswolds finished with day trips to Bourton-on-the-Water, Painswick and Broadway which were all beautiful and interesting.

On Saturday morning we headed to Gloucester, and then to Lydney where we thought our next hostel was. Unfortunately, it turned out to be seven miles from Lydney and with no transport there on weekends we were a bit stuck. Eventually Eddy tracked down a taxi driver (the only one in town) and he took us there giving a local commentary on the way. He was a nice guy, but quite gruff, with a thick Yorkshire (?) accent so it was a surprise when he described Puzzle Wood, one of the local attractions as "a kind of enchanted, fairy wonderland." He dropped us at the door (or more accurately, drawbridge) of St. Briavels Castle, and said, very seriously, "I hope you're not worried about ghosts" and then he gave us his contact number in case we had "any kind of trouble" and wanted him to come and get us. Uh oh.

St. Briavel's castle dates from the 12th century and was King John's hunting lodge. It has had many uses since then but was recently turned into a YHA. It's beautiful in a cold, stoney way. The staff were lovely but as it was so crowded we both stayed in different rooms each night. Last night Eddy slept (or tried to) in the 'Hanging room'. I stayed in the 'State Apartments', the 'Constable's Room' and the 'Chaplain's Room'. Breakfast was fantastic with local eggs and bacon and we were given a tour of the castle, complete with accounts of strange happenings (he only told us about things that didn't involve rooms we were sleeping in.) They have regular paranormal investigations there. I guess you can believe what you want, but ghosts or no ghosts, this place was spooky.

Unfortunately during our stay we had what the English called Welsh weather (stormy, cold and windy). We were only a few miles from the Welsh border and could see its hills out of one of the windows. The castle looks over the Forest of Dean. This is a beautiful area- hilly and wild. We got a lift to Clearwell Caves from some fellow hostellers on the first day and had a look through them. The caves were mined extensively for iron ore over the centuries and are a huge network of chambers and passageways. It seemed funny, reading about the harsh history of the place, to think what the miners would think if they knew the caves were now a tourist attraction. From there we went into Puzzle Woods (the enchanted, fairy land). It also used to be a mine, but a prehistoric one, and the woods have taken over making this an amazing, mossy environment with twisted trees and wildflowers. Apparently it was one of Tolkien's favourite places to visit.

Afterwards, we had no choice but to walk back. Luckily we'd bought a map. Unluckily, it was still raining. We trudged along through fields and woods, over stiles and through kissing gates, up and down and up and down until we had a startling and very sad revelation: waterproof shoes don't stay waterproof it the water dribbles down your pants, through your socks and inside the shoe. In fact, they keep the water in. That's why the English wear gum-boots.

The next day was the Spring bank holiday which in Gloucestershire means cheese rolling! We got a lift with one of the staff at the hostel to Coopers Hill where it was held. It was raining even harder than the day before and was colder. I must put a special mention in for Eddy's vollies which he lent to me, my 'waterproof' shoes being still soaked. I didn't slip over once, which with that amount of mud is surprising. Coopers Hill is the steepest hill I've ever seen. It would be called a cliff if it didn't have grass on it. Despite the bad weather the event was crowded and there was no shortage of people wanting to throw themselves down the slope after a surprisingly small wheel of cheese. Surprising really, when they stand up the top and look down at the row of waiting ambulances at the bottom. Literally. No one managed to stay one their feet for more than a few metres. They slid down, frontways, backways, sideways and if they hit a tuft of grass they flipped up into the air. It was brutal...but funny. Anyway, it was a fantastic day and we made it through our last night at St Briavel's without any eerie sightings.

What an adventure.
Susie xox