Barmouth
The Baskerville Hall Hotel, Hay-on-Wye
Carew Castle
Ewloe Castle
The Grand Theatre, Swansea
Gwydir Castle
Laugharne
Maesmawr Hall Hotel, Newtown, Powys
The Mason’s Arms, Kidwelly
Miskin Manor Country Hotel, Pontyclun
The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans
Powis Castle
Prestatyn Promenade
Ruthin Castle Hotel
The Salutation Inn, Pontargothi
Tintern Abbey
Tredegar House, Newport, Gwent
Wales, the land of the Red Dragon. The national symbol of the country has been around since at least the time of the Romans, though no one really knows where it came from.
Wales is a country with a landscape rich in natural wonders and memories of the past. There are caves and cairns, standing stones and Roman remains, ancient ruins of abbeys and castles. Legends abound, such as the one about the mythical giant Idris who is said to dwell on Cader Idris in southern Snowdonia. Anybody spending a night on the peak will supposedly wake up either blind, mad or a poet. How could this country not also be rich in the ghosts of long ago?
I have travelled frequently to Wales both whilst filming LIVINGtv’s Most Haunted and while appearing in various theatres throughout the country. I have appeared at the Grand Theatre in Swansea (see page 216) and although I have not conducted an investigation of the premises, I have been very aware of the shade of a lady who walks the corridors and dressing rooms, especially at night when the audience have taken their leave and the place is as silent as the grave.
Barmouth
Each year I do my best to appear at the Dragon Theatre in Barmouth (and there’s a ghost or two there!), though I have yet to visit the town in anything other than wet and windy weather.
I was first introduced to Barmouth by my friends Marie Flavell and her husband, the legendary fast bowler Jack Flavell. Sadly, Jack passed to the world of spirit in 2004, but he was a man amongst men and I will always treasure the time we spent together.
Barmouth is well worth a visit from anybody conducting a paranormal investigation. Apart from its rich history there are plenty of legends and tales of inexplicable events there.
Some of these have been recorded by the well-known English ghost-hunter Elliot O’Donnell. He wrote about fishermen’s tales of mysterious lights, or ‘death-tokens’, which hovered over the boats of those who were doomed to drown within the next few days. This may be fishy or illuminating, depending on your point of view, but be careful if you step off dry land at Barmouth.
Several sightings of strange creatures have been reported over recent years, from the traditional sea serpent to a creature resembling a giant turtle with an egg-shaped head and two spines jutting from its back.
The Dragon Theatre, Jubilee Road, Barmouth, Gwynedd; Tel: (01341) 280392
DEREK’S TIP
Remember that spirit people deserve the same respect that you would give a person living on Earth. It is ludicrous to expect a spirit person to respond to verbal abuse, for example. If you were that spirit person, would you respond to a person who treated you with respect or a person who used foul language and insults?
The Baskerville Hall Hotel
Baskerville Hall was built in 1839 by Thomas Mynors Baskerville. Arthur Conan Doyle was a family friend who often came to stay. While he was there he learned of the local legend of the hound of the Baskervilles and used it in a famous case for his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. However, at the request of his friends he set the book in Devon to ward off tourists. Today the Sherlock Holmes connection is reflected in most rooms of the comfortable hotel.
The hotel is said to be one of the most haunted in Wales. Many ghosts have been seen there, including a gentleman on the grand staircase, a lady in white in the rose garden and a man who walks between the adjoining balconies of rooms 3–7. Orbs of light have also been photographed there.
The Baskerville Hall Hotel, Clyro Court, Hay-on-Wye, Powys HR3 5LE; Tel: (01497) 820033; Fax: (01497) 820596; E-mail: enquires@ baskerville-hall. co.uk; Website: www.baskervillehall.co.uk. Paranormal investigation weekends are available.
Carew Castle
The ruins of the tenth-century Carew Castle stand alongside the Daugleddau river in the Pembrokeshire National Park in a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest overlooking a 23-acre millpond. Over half the species of bat in Britain are to be found there. During the 1990s the site was excavated by an archaeological team from Lampeter University, who were able to show that the area had been settled as early as the Roman period. The name Carew could derive from the Welsh for ‘fort’, caer, and ‘small hill’, rhiw, or from caerau, ‘forts’.
The castle grounds have a remarkable collection of unusual trees, shrubs and rhododendrons, and close by is the eleventh-century Celtic Cross and the restored Carew tidal mill, the only one of its kind in Wales still intact.
The castle is haunted by three ghosts. One is believed to be the beautiful Princess Nest, the ‘Helen of Wales’. Henry I fell in love with her and after she had borne him a son he arranged for her to go back to Wales and marry Gerald de Windsor, an Anglo-Norman baron who was much older than her. Carew was part of her dowry. Later, in 1109, it was captured by the Welsh prince Owain ap Cadwgan who had been overcome by Nest’s beauty at a banquet. Gerald is said to have saved his and his children’s lives by escaping down a toilet and hiding in the sewers while Nest stayed behind. Six years later he managed to rescue her, along with two children she had had by Owain, and to kill Owain, but died in battle shortly afterwards. Nest’s ghost is said to haunt the ruins, waiting for him to return. Her white figure once appeared in a group photograph of schoolchildren visiting the castle.
Another ghost at Carew is that of Sir Roland Rhys, who lived in the castle in the seventeenth century and, according to legend, was eventually killed by his pet ape. The north-west tower is said to be haunted by the ghosts of both Sir Roland and his pet. It would seem that even though one of the castle’s more eccentric owners met his untimely and gruesome end at the hands or, more rightly, teeth of the ape, in death master and beloved pet have been reconciled. However, if you wander up to the tower, be warned that it may not be just a nip in the air that you feel!
Carew Castle, Carew, Tenby, Pembrokeshire SA70 8SL; Tel: (01646) 651782; E-mail: enquiries@carewcastle.com; Website: www.carewcastle.com.
Open daily from Easter to the end of October.
The castle is signposted off the A477 Pembroke to St Clears road. There are two car parks and a picnic site.
DEREK’S TIP
When researching a location, attempt to establish the local dialect or language of a particular spirit reputed to haunt the building. Calling out using that dialect or language may encourage a response from the spirit person or people.
Ewloe Castle
Ewloe Castle was built by the Welsh prince Llwelyn ap Gruffudd in 1257 in a wooded hollow to defend Wales against the invading English. It is a traditional Welsh castle with a ‘D’-shaped tower. The English seized it in 1277, but the nearby Flint Castle proved of greater military importance and Ewloe Castle was eventually abandoned.
Now the atmospheric ruins stand in Wepre Park, a 160-acre country park between Connah’s Quay and Ewloe. The ghost of a nun has been seen walking over the waterfall there. She is said to have been killed by a bomb during the Second World War.
Many strange phenomena have taken place at the castle. Unexplained lights have been seen and the sound of marching men has been heard – possibly former soldiers from the many border wars. One rather bizarre phenomenon is the ghostly singing which echoes around the battlements during thunderstorms.
From as early as 1934 a wide variety of encounters with apparitions have been reported at Ewloe Castle. When not frequented by restless spirits, the beautiful ruins are an oasis of calm and – ghosts or no ghosts – a completely magical place to visit.
Ewloe Castle, Ewloe, Deeside, Wrexham; Tel:029 2082 6185; Fax:029 2082 6375.
Ewloe Castle is in a remote location. Please visit only in good weather conditions and between 9.30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
DEREK’S TIP
Remember that spirits do not always appear at night. They are just as likely to be in visitation during daylight hours. It is, however, far more atmospheric to conduct an investigation during the hours of darkness.
The Grand Theatre, Swansea
The Grand Theatre, Swansea, was designed by the architect William Hope of Newcastle and opened by the famous opera singer Dame Adelina Patti in 1897. Since then it has offered a wide range of entertainment. The theatre was extensively refurbished and updated in the 1980s and the Arts Wing, which hosts exhibitions, conferences and smaller-scale performances, was opened in 1999.
The theatre’s ghost is the White Lady, a floating figure who sometimes makes her presence known by the smell of violets. No one knows for sure who she is, but there are several possibilities. Some think she is the ghost of a young actress called Jenny who took part in a show at Swansea just before leaving for America – aboard the Titanic. Others think she could be Dame Adelina Patti returning to the theatre she loved, while a third possibility is that she is the ghost of a former wardrobe mistress who drowned whilst travelling to Ireland.
The Grand Theatre, Singleton Street, Swansea SA1 3QJ; Tel: (01792) 475715 (box office). Conference facilities for 20–1,000 people are available at the theatre.
Gwydir Castle
Gwydir Castle, one of the finest Tudor houses in Wales, is situated in the Conwy Valley in the foothills of Snowdonia. It has a Grade I listed 10-acre garden. It was the home of the Wynn family. Katherine Tudor, Mother of Wales and cousin of Elizabeth I, lived here, and later on King Charles I was a guest. One of the main features of the castle is the panelled dining room, dating back to the 1640s, which was purchased by William Randolph Hearst in 1921 and transported to the United States. Hearst never even unpacked it, however, and it was inherited by New York’s Metropolitan Museum, which also simply left it in storage. The current owners organized its return to the castle.
The castle is famous for its peacocks and also known for its many ghosts. The most widely reported is that of a young woman said to haunt the north wing and the panelled corridor between the Hall of Meredith and the Great Chamber. In the nineteenth century the room behind the corridor was called the Ghost Room and a woman in white or grey was often seen there and in the adjoining passageway. In recent times she has not been seen, but people have claimed to feel her presence. Some have suddenly felt cold and been touched on the shoulder. The most notable feature of the woman’s presence, however, is the smell of putrefaction! Apparently Sir John Wynn (either the first or fifth baronet) seduced a serving maid and when he tired of her, he murdered her and had her body walled up in one of the chimney breasts. The smell of the decomposing body lingered for months.
Sir John himself has been seen on a number of occasions on the spiral staircase leading from the Solar Hall to the Great Chamber.
Other paranormal phenomena at the castle include the sound of children crying when there are no children there and the ghost of a dog roaming the building. The bones of a dog were unearthed in the cellar in 1995.
Gwydir Castle, Llanrwst, North Wales LL26 0PN; Tel: (01492) 641687; Fax: (01492) 641687; Email: info@gwydircastle.co.uk; Website: www.gwydircastle.co.uk.Open daily March–October.
Laugharne
Laugharne (pronounced ‘Larn’) is a pretty town in Carmarthenshire, ‘the Garden of Wales’, with views over the Taf Estuary. It was the home of Wales’ most famous poet, Dylan Thomas. He and his wife Caitlin are buried in the churchyard. The Boat House where he wrote Under Milk Wood is now a heritage site dedicated to his life and work.
The town is dominated by the ruins of Laugharne Castle. It was originally a Norman ringwork which was attacked numerous times by the Welsh and was rebuilt by the de Brian family in the thirteenth century. In 1575 it became the property of Sir John Perrot, reputedly one of Henry VIII’s illegitimate sons, who transformed it into a fine Tudor mansion. In 1591, however, he was found guilty of high treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he died the following year. In his absence the castle began to be stripped of anything of value. Finally, during the Civil War it fell to the Parliamentarians, who slighted it. The grounds were landscaped in the eighteenth century.
The town is reputedly haunted by a phantom dog called the Gwyllgi, or Dog of Darkness. Like similar dogs in many other parts of the country it is large and black with fiery red eyes. It is said to run from the castle to the town.
Laugharne Castle, Market Street, Laugharne SA33 4SA; Tel: (01994) 427906. Open daily April–September.
There is a small parking area opposite the castle and a public car park nearby. There is a shop at the castle.
Dylan Thomas Boathouse, Dylan’s Walk, Laugharne SA33 4SD; Tel: (01994) 427420; Fax: (01994) 427420. Open daily.
There is a tea room for snacks and refreshments.
Maesmawr Hall Hotel
Maesmawr Hall Hotel is situated in the Severn Valley, five miles from the market town of Newtown and a mile from the village of Caersws. It dates back to the sixteenth century and is a fine example of the central chimney timber-framed houses which are characteristic of the area. A large function room has been added at the rear.
A Grey Lady is said to haunt the hotel. She is supposed to sit on the bed in two of the rooms and strokes the occupant’s hair and hands.
There are also stories about a very evil man, Robin Drwg, who took the form of a bull and was finally ‘laid’ by seven parsons and condemned to Llyn Tarw (Bull’s Pool). It may be his ghost that is supposed to haunt a small wooded area in the grounds as well as the house.
Maesmawr Hall Hotel, Caersws, Newtown, Powys SY17 5SF; Tel: (01686) 688255; Fax: (01686) 688410; Website: www.maesmawr.co.uk
The Maesmawr Hall Restaurant, open to the public seven days a week, specializes in freshly cooked food using local produce. À la carte and bar menus are available.
The Mason’s Arms
Kidwelly, on the River Gwendraeth in South Wales, is a historic coastal town dominated by its Norman castle. English, French and Flemish immigrants were brought into the area to support Norman rule and the town was attacked many times by the Welsh. By the fourteenth century strong defences had been built and the town had become a busy commercial centre. The Mason’s Arms dates back to this period and is one of the oldest pubs in Wales. It is a traditional thatched inn with a beer garden. A variety of beers, wines and spirits are served and food is available.
The pub is reputed to be haunted by three ghosts. When a new landlady moved in recently, she found that all the chairs had been moved round into a circle to welcome her, though no one had been in the room at the time.
The Mason’s Arms,37 Water Street, Kidwelly SA17 5BX; Tel: (01554) 890298
Miskin Manor Country Hotel
Miskin Manor Country Hotel is a Grade II listed building situated in 22 acres of countryside. It is believed that the name evolved from maes cun, ‘lovely plain’. The manor dates back to the tenth century and was rebuilt in 1857 by David Williams, a well-known Welsh bard and philanthropist. It suffered two major fires, the first in 1922 and the second in 1952. During the Second World War it was a nursing home and afterwards was turned into flats before becoming a hotel in 1985.
Staff at the hotel have had many paranormal experiences. The most regular sighting is of a grey mist that floats across the lounge bar from the drawing room at night. At first one of the former night supervisors thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but one night he invited the security guard in for a coffee and he suddenly shouted, ‘What was that?’ ‘It happens most nights,’ the supervisor replied. The security guard never took him up on his invite for coffee again.
On another occasion the same night supervisor was approaching a conference room in the early hours of the morning when he noticed a tall shadow on the door. Believing it to be an intruder, he summoned the security guard. He came quickly and went into the room to investigate. The shadow slid down the door and away from view. There was no sound from the wooden floor, no one came out through the main door and all the fire exit doors were secure, yet a search found no one in the room.
Another evening the bar supervisor drove home at about 11 o’clock. A couple of minutes later the manager on duty carried out his usual check of the premises, which included walking over an old bridge. As he crossed the bridge he felt that someone was walking beside him. The following day the bar supervisor related how she had had the feeling that someone was sitting in the back seat of her car as she had driven over the bridge and that she had been afraid to look in the mirror. The manager and the supervisor had been on different shift patterns and neither had any idea of what the other had experienced.
Guests, too, have had strange encounters. One warm night a businessman was lying in bed with the bedclothes pushed down. As he was drifting off to sleep he noticed a figure coming out of the bathroom and moving around the bed until it was level with him. Then it said, ‘There is no need for you to worry any longer now you are dead,’ and raised the bedclothes up to his chest. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel afraid, just relaxed and comfortable. The figure then returned to the bathroom. After a while the guest started to wonder whether it had been a dream. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to find paper tissues thrown untidily around the room.
Another guest once witnessed a mirror float right across the room. There have also been many sightings of a gentleman dressed in a dark suit looking from the cedar room over the lawn. The ghost of an old gardener has also been seen and the hotel is said to be haunted by a small child who was killed in one of the fires.
Miskin Manor Hotel, Pendoylan Road, Pontyclun, Nr Cowbridge, South Wales CF72 8ND; Tel: (01443) 224204; Fax: (01443) 237606; Website: www.miskin-manor.co.uk
The Museum of Welsh Life
The Museum of Welsh Life opened in 1948 and has become one of Europe’s foremost open-air museums. It stands in the grounds of the magnificent St Fagans Castle, a late sixteenth-century manor house whose ground floor is open to the public. The 100-acre parkland now has over 30 original buildings which have been moved here from various parts of Wales to show how people lived at various times in history. They include a chapel, a school and several workshops where craftsmen demonstrate their skills and sell their products. There are also exhibitions of costumes, daily life and farming implements, and native breeds of livestock can be seen in the fields.
Several ghosts are also on site. At the Battle of St Fagans in 1646, during the Civil War, 8,000 Royalist troops were routed and the river ran red with blood. It is said that the sounds of battle and cries of the dying can still be heard.
Visitors to one of the cottages that has come from Rhostryfan in Snowdonia, the eighteenth-century Llainfadyn, have seen and heard ghostly children playing, laughing and crying.
The eighteenth-century Cilewent farmhouse also has a reputation for strange events. Several visitors have felt icy cold there and on several occasions the building’s heavy wooden doors have been locked from the inside during the night. Staff opening the locked wooden trapdoor to the loft recently were surprised to see tiny footprints in the dust on a series of Welsh wooden chests. They clearly passed from one side of the stone wall to another. Neither visitors nor children have access to this part of the building.
The castle and one of the houses are also haunted by a shadowy figure said to be the ghost of the first curator, Dr Peate.
The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, Cardiff CF5 6XB; Tel:029 2057 3500. Open daily.
Powis Castle
Powis Castle is a thirteenth-century fortress which has been modified by generations of the Herbert and Clive families. It houses a brilliant collection of treasures, including tapestries, sculpture, paintings, furniture and carriages, and the terraced gardens, designed in the seventeenth century, include many rare plants.
Several ghosts have been seen at Powis, including a man in one of the ground-floor rooms, a woman in white in one of the bedrooms and a man on a horse in the grounds. However, the most famous apparition is that of a gentleman who was seen three times in one evening and has never been seen since.
The story runs that an elderly seamstress had been engaged to do some work at the castle and given a small bedroom but not told that it was haunted. One night in her room she was reading her Bible when a gentleman walked in, stopped at a window and looked out. After a while he turned and left, slowly shutting the door behind him. It was only after he had gone that the seamstress realized that he had not made a sound. Realizing he was a ghost, she started to pray. Then the door opened again and she found the same gentleman standing right behind her. Again he turned round and left. Later he returned for the third time. This time the old lady asked him what he wanted. The ghost led her to a small room and told her to take up a floorboard, remove a box that she would find there and send it to the Earl of Powys in London. He promised that if she did so, he would never appear again.
The box was duly sent to the Earl of Powys, who was so delighted to receive it that he invited the old woman to be his guest at the castle for the rest of her life.
Powis Castle, Nr Welshpool, Powys SY21 8RF; Tel: (01938) 551929; Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk.Open April–November. There is a shop and restaurant. Special events are held regularly at the castle.
Prestatyn Promenade
Prestatyn is a lovely seaside town with a long promenade. On a warm summer’s day strolling along ‘the prom’ is an ideal way to relax.
However, at twilight the promenade is haunted by a solitary woman in a white dress: the White Lady of Prestatyn. She is a tall figure who walks between the Nova and the Festival Gardens, although she has been seen elsewhere on the promenade. She has also been seen sitting on the sea wall reading a book. It is thought that she could be a ghostly nun reading her Bible.
A few years ago a Rhyl man was walking his dog along the promenade when the White Lady appeared in front of him. His dog immediately started to shiver and whine and he had to pick it up and carry it under his arm. As the woman approached, the dog gave a terrified yelp, jumped out of the man’s arms and ran away. The air suddenly became very cold and the man realized that the woman coming towards him was a nun with no face below her wimple. As he froze to the spot with horror, she passed straight through him, feeling like an icy chill. When he turned, he found she had disappeared completely. He later found his dog safe and well, hiding under his car.
DEREK’S TIP
If you decide to form a circle in order to generate energy to assist spirit people in drawing close, ensure you maintain physical contact with the people who are sitting or standing on either side of you. This is important, as if contact is broken, the energy is diminished.
Ruthin Castle Hotel
Ruthin Castle, the Red Fort, was built by Edward I in 1277. Its remains are situated in a walled dry moat within 30 acres of landscaped gardens, parkland and woods by the River Clwyd. In 1963 it was transformed into a luxury hotel.
The castle ghost is known as the Grey Lady, as she is dressed from head to foot in grey. There are many stories about her. The most popular is that when the castle was a fortress inhabited by the armies of Edward I, she was the wife of his second in command. Her husband, however, was having an affair with a local woman. When his wife discovered this, she murdered the woman with an axe. Afterwards, she was tried, sentenced and executed at the castle. As a criminal she could not be buried in consecrated ground, so she was buried just outside the castle walls. Her grave is still there, but her ghost can be seen roaming the castle battlements and sometimes the banqueting hall, which was formerly the chapel.
A man in armour wearing only one gauntlet has also been seen at the castle, but nothing is known about him.
Ruthin Castle Hotel, Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales LL15 2NU; Tel: (01824) 702664; Fax: (01824) 705978; E-mail: reception@ruthincastle.co.uk; Website: www.ruthincastle.co.uk
The Salutation Inn
The origins of the Salutation Inn, formerly known as the Penrheol Inn, date back as far as the fourteenth century. Today many of the original features still remain: exposed beams, some thick walls and the flagstone floor.
In the early fifteenth century many battles were fought in and around the area and the inn was used as a makeshift hospital. Two Celtic warriors who died there still haunt the premises and it is believed that Prince Llewellyn himself walks between the stable and the bar. He has actually been seen on three or four occasions, escorted by the two warriors, walking through the front wall of the bar. This was the main entrance of the pub until 1888.
On the upper floor there are the ghosts of two women. One of them is Jane, who died in 1874 and today roams the pub looking for a box of pearls that her husband stole from her. At one time she ran the pub with her husband, but he drank the profits and died aged only 37, leaving many debts. Consequently Jane was evicted by the bailiffs and died shortly afterwards in the workhouse in Carmarthen. The other lady is Lorna, who died in the pub in the mid-1700s. Apparently she was extremely well to do and would never go downstairs to the bar area. She is reputed to be buried in the cellar. The ghost of her husband walks back and forth in the snug, upset because he feels people should not be walking over the place where Lorna is buried. Several people have felt a physical nudge urging them to move on when they have been standing in that particular part of the snug.
Five ostlers also haunt the pub, together with a young lad called Daniel Davies, who worked with the horses when the pub was used by drovers. The ostlers died in a fire in the pub in the early 1800s and Daniel was killed the same day when he was kicked by one of the frightened horses. The ostlers have been seen in the form of orbs of light in the lower restaurant, which was once the stable.
The final spirits haunting the pub are Henry Selwyn Allen, a former landlord, and Sam, his partner, who owned the pub. Sam regularly makes the lampshades move and opens the curtains at night. He has a sense of humour, but if he doesn’t like the way something is done in the pub he will make his opinion known. He has his own place at a table in the restaurant and no one else is allowed to sit there. People always know when he is around by the strong smell of pipe tobacco.
Though the Salutation is one of the most haunted pubs in Wales, it is also one of the warmest and friendliest and all 13 spirit ‘friends’ make it that way.
The Salutation Inn, Pontargothi, Nr Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire SA23 7NH; Tel: (01267) 290336. Serves food.
Tintern Abbey
Tintern Abbey was the second Cistercian abbey to be built in Britain and the first in Wales. It was founded on 9 May 1131 by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow. It soon prospered and buildings were added every century until its dissolution in 1536. Within a few years, though, the lead had been stripped from the roof and the stone taken away for local building projects and the abbey had fallen into ruin.
When it became fashionable to travel to wilder parts of the country in the late eighteenth century, Tintern Abbey was visited by many famous people, including J. M. W. Turner and William Wordsworth, who was inspired to write his famous poem ‘Tintern Abbey’ there.
A number of visitors have seen the ghost of Tintern Abbey, a monk who prays near one of the arches on the west side. The presence of a Saxon soldier has also been felt in the grounds. Apparently he was killed at the abbey whilst fighting in Henry II’s army.
There is also a legend about Tintern Abbey: once some young men visiting the abbey decided to employ labourers to dig in the orchard to see if they could find any antiquities. Two human skeletons were uncovered and the men decided to celebrate in the abbey ruins. As they sat down to their feast, joking about what the monks would think, a thunderstorm blew up and mist came down. Then a gleam of light appeared at the entrance to the choir. It grew larger and turned into a mail-clad knight with the visor of his helmet raised. This was ‘Strongbow’, Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Claire, Earl of Pembroke. As the men watched, petrified, monks and abbots also began to take shape around him. He slowly raised his arm and pointed to the doorway of the abbey with his sword. The men fled and, as they ran, a small whirlwind gathered the remains of their meal from the grass and flung it far and wide.
Tintern Abbey, Tintern Parva, Chepstow, Monmouthshire NP16 6SE; Tel: (01291) 689251. Open most days. Church services are sometimes held there.
Tredegar House
Tredegar House is one of the best examples of a late seventeenth-century mansion in Britain, with some parts dating back to the early 1500s. Set in a beautiful 90-acre park, it was home to the Morgans, one of the most prominent Welsh families, for over 500 years, until they left in 1951. For a while it became a school, then it was bought by Newport Borough Council and in 1976 a major programme of restoration began. The house is now open to the public and the grounds include a children’s playground, jogging trail, woodland walk and boating lake.
Tredegar has the reputation of being one of the most haunted houses in Wales and a ghost dressed in black knee-length trousers, a white shirt with frills down the front, black overcoat and black boots has often been seen in the grounds. Parades of nuns have also been seen walking through the inner courtyard and one of the outbuildings is said to be haunted. In the house itself people have reported strange sounds coming from empty rooms, unexplained footsteps and the ghost of a nun at prayer. The owners believe that ghosts, ghouls and all manner of phantoms infest the house, particularly at Halloween. Dare you enter it?
Tredegar House, Newport, Gwent NP10 8YW; Tel: (01633) 815880; Fax: (01633) 815895; E-mail: tredegar. house@newport.gov.uk. The park and woodland walk are open all year. The house is open for tours from Easter to the end of September, Wednesday–Sunday. The house caters for conferences and is licensed for weddings. Special events are held throughout the year.