- mariefx5 wrote:
- http://www.skirridmountaininn.co.uk/
30 each but cheap
will post more info later.
info
Old inn has spirits of the spooky kind
by Ashley Nield of the South Wales Argus
Glasses were mysteriously sent flying at The Skirrid Mountain Inn at Llanfihangel Crucorney last year when former landlady Heather Grant attempted to sell the pub.
Maria said: "We're trying to be as respectful as we can and I don't think we've disturbed anyone yet."
But daughter Francesca, 12, disagreed: "I thought I saw a face staring at me through a window," she said.
There's good reason to take "sightings" seriously at The Skirrid - 180 rebels from the Monmouth Rebellion were hanged there in 1685.
The Skirrid has been an inn since 1110 but is most famous for its use as Judge Jeffreys' courtroom in the wake of the rebellion.
The judge was sent west by the Catholic King James II to brutalise the local population for supporting the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, (another James) in his failed rebellion.
Jeffreys hanged 180 rebels from a beam beneath the Skirrid's staircase.
The beam stands today and bears chaffing marks from the hangman's rope.
Macabre tales are appreciated the world over and Daryl is setting up a website to cater for international interest in The Skirrid.
And in January the production company behind the TV series Most Haunted set up night-time cameras and microphones in the hope of one of the spirits making a personal appearance.
Daryl was assistant manager at The Langdale Leisure resort in the Lake District and Maria worked for South Lakes authority as Kendal's town centre manager. "We were looking for a new challenge," said Daryl, "and they don't come with more history or more atmosphere than The Skirrid."
The inn has an ancient wood-panelled restaurant, real fires, two bars, an old ship's bell for calling last orders, and three visitors' bedrooms.
The couple now plan to boost the food side of the pub.
"We're going to focus on building up the menu by offering traditional recipes using good local meats and fish," said Daryl, "and improve the vegetarian options also".
The couple moved from the Lake District to take over in December 2002.
They were immediately tested by the arrival of ten grouse shooters looking for a hearty breakfast.
"We knew they weren't ghosts by their appetites," said Maria.
VISITORS to the Skirrid Mountain Inn at Abergavenny will be forgiven for hearing things that go bump in the night.
The inn, the oldest in Wales, is well known for its haunting happenings - but the truth behind some of the famous fables could soon be revealed.
UK Living TV was has been filming and investigating at the inn to reveal what is really going on behind the closed doors of the inn.
Landlady Maria Appleton said: "I want to know what really has happened within these rooms and why the ghosts haunt them."
No-one can be possibly sure who actually haunts the bedrooms and stairways of the Inn but many people believed that hanging Judge Jeffreys, could not rest or that some of the 180 people he sent to the gallows have come back for revenge.
With the lights and cameras in place ready to capture the first movement or change in temperature the Most Haunted team were ready to discover the truth.
Phil Whyman, a paranormal investigator with the Most Haunted team, carried out experiments at the Inn in an attempt to scientifically prove that there was something else there.
He said: "We carry out a trigger test to see if objects are moved, test the temperatures of rooms and specific spots in the room and we use an EMF meter which gives an indication of the presence of a ghost."
Maria said that she hoped after the programme they could research the real history and inform their visitors of what really happened.
She said: "So many of the visitors at the inn are interested
in the ghosts but some have never heard of them and are intrigued when they hear noises in the night." She added: "For the first few nights we stayed here I had to sleep with the light on because I didn't know what to expect but the spirits here seem to be quite friendly and welcoming."
The programme about the Skirrid Inn was screened at Easter 2002 and many thousands of viewers who watched the programme have been to visit the historic Inn since, fascinated by what they saw on the programme. The Inn is reputed to be haunted by the friendly ghost of Fanny Price who was a Landlady here during the 1600's and whose grave, and that of the family, can clearly be seen at the graveyard next door to the Inn
we should do a couple of hours in the grave yard