The Ghosts of Gower

Welcome my friends to my new blog. I am hoping to use this space to keep you up to date with what I am doing and where I am doing it. I hope that this will become a place where I can tell you a little about the stories I tell and where I get my inspiration from. I could also just ramble a bit if I feel it’s a ramble that you might like to hear. Anyway, let’s get started.

I have seen a few ghosts in my life, I tell stories about them all the time, and I read about them even more but I’m still not sure if I actually believe in them. so when a friend told me she had recently seen one I could not wait to go and investigate.

I’m not what you call a supernatural investigator, I have no equipment or anything that goes beep. I do however love a good story as you are probably aware so it was with that and nothing else that I recently headed to one of the most wonderful places on Earth the Gower Peninsula in search of a Spirit.

The names have been omitted to protect the Innocent.

My friend is a keen Jogger who likes nothing more than a run in the countryside, often with a friend and this is just what she was doing on this day not long ago in a place not far away but its exact location will remain a secret for now.

Turning down a narrow lane bordered on both sides with bushes and trees they were locked in conversation as they made their steady way around the route. The sun was shining the wind was calm and the supernatural was the farthest thing from her mind when suddenly a figure cut across the path in front of her causing her to stumble and almost fall to the ground.

The figure was dressed in white and my friend recalls that the base of its dress was ragged and torn. It happened so quickly that she recalls little else other than the figure was female and was almost close enough to touch. It veered across the road and vanished near an old wall on the left of the path. As you can see the wall seems to be an old doorway which has at sometime been blocked up but the figure used it as if it was still an entrance

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My friend was shaken but not scared and her fellow runner was oblivious to the whole encounter. They continued their run but calorie loss and step gains were now furthest from her mind.

When we spoke about this a little while after the encounter I tried to emphasise that this really was a blessing. There are not many people who get to see things like this and this whole encounter highlights something that I often tell people who spend many hours looking for ghosts. “ When you look for ghosts you seldom find them, ghosts find you when you least expect them “.

There have been other sightings of a similar spirit in the area apparently. Welsh folklore often speaks of “ Y Ladi Wen” or white lady who is often seen in places such as this and I wondered if this is what my friend had the fortune to see?. I decided to pay a visit and find out.

This week I packed my car and my faithful hound Betsan and set out to investigate. as you may know from listening to the podcast I am a great believer in keeping my mind and being happy and a trip to look for a ghost has the duel purpose of both aiding my mental state but also seeking the supernatural as well. its a nice double whammy a bit like a Double Decker chocolate bar if you can still get them?

It took me a while to find the lane but find it I did. A shadowy path between two landmarks that have probably been there for hundreds of years. I could imagine centuries of carts and carriages traveling its bumpy surface on the way to the old settlements that once populated this land. On both sides the hedges were high and the shadows were long and there was a distinct chill that permeated the whole area. We walked its length back and forth twice but felt nothing but warmth and contentedness of place. Y Ladi Wen was not going to grant either Betsan or Ian audience that day. My friend had been truly blessed.

I will return.

No trip to the Gower would be complete without a visit to what must be one of the most haunted locations in the UK. Windswept and Winsome, Rhossili Bay is awash with ghosts. Spectral carriages travel its crooked paths and Ghost lights bob and bluster in the ocean just feet away from shore where the wreck of the Helvita still reaches for the sky like a hand seeking salvation from the sundered sands.

In the centre of the bay is an old building that has featured greatly in the history of my podcast. The Old Rectory.

you can have a listen here

A solitary structure standing silently in the centre of the bay it has been at the heart of many a Haunting. An Edwardian couple are often seen standing on the stairway and countless visitors have reported ghostly sightings or eerie happenings at the haunt.

Most famous of all is the report of a dark shadowy creature emerging from the ocean to shuffle and shamble its way to the Rectory for reasons known only to itself and the sea..

All was silent on my visit but one can only imagine what that lonesome building must feel like on a storm-filled night with the wind running through the air like a pack of hounds on the hunt. it’s owned by the National Trust now so staying there is a distinct possibility if you have the readies?.

I did not find ghosts on this trip but I did find some gorgeous locations and a day where I could just let the wind blow in my face and thoughts of ghastly tales drift into my mind. As I said earlier looking for ghosts seldom finds you ghosts but the journey makes it worth it alone.

Take some time out and go Ghost-hunting yourself. Even if you only find some joy it’s well worth the journey

Take care

Owen x