Cannock Chase

Cannock Chase in Staffordshire has been described as 'one of the weirdest' places for various/ numerous sightings. One specific road (A513) has numerous stories of ghosts, UFOs, big cats, ghosts and Cryptids. En route from Stafford the A513 passes The Barley Mow public house at Milford Common, the entrance to Shugborough Hall and on to the Wolseley Arms public house and Wolseley Bridge itself. This stretch of the A513 between the two pubs, less than four miles long, has a reputation as being ‘one of the weirdest parts of the weirdest place’ for those who study the unexplained, the paranormal, and the extra-terrestrial. Milford Common has a strange story of its own - an aural ghostly fairground that has been heard (but not seen) there, with the sound of rides, people screaming, laughter, ‘carnival’ music and so forth, especially on windy days. Milford Common was used as a venue for fairgrounds, although quite whether there was a specific explanation is not clear. Over the years, Cannock Chase has had more than its fair share of claims of sightings of UFOs (in the 1950s known as ‘Flying Saucers’), mysterious animals, ghosts and unexplained phenomena. For example, a strange ‘Bigfoot’ type creature whose circular nest (or ‘Fumb’ - a North American Inuit word best translated as ‘dwelling’) or tent-shaped shelter made from tree branches can be happened upon by walkers going off the usual tracks; a ‘phantom cyclist’ (riding an old-style bicycle and appearing, unusually, during the day); and a ‘bedraggled woman’ in shabby clothes, given a lift by a female motorist near Shugborough and who ‘disappeared’ as soon as she was dropped off in Stafford. Mysterious stories are also connected with nearby Shugborough Estate: Lady Harriet who died in childbirth apparently roams the hall, and a former housekeeper has been witnessed in the kitchens (Shugborough has its origins in the Old English words ‘Shuck’s Burh’, implying an ancient earthwork haunted by an evil spirit or demon). More than one ghost inhabits the railway tunnel between the hall and the A513 – one story is of a soldier from the Victorian era who jumped from a carriage as it passed through the tunnel, escaping while under arrest for deserting, and another story has been recorded of a ‘grey lady’ holding a candle or candle-lit glass light standing in the tunnel entrance at twilight. Other ‘sightings’ locally include the bizarre ‘Slender Man’ (a made-up character from a few years ago, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story?), the 'Children in the Corn' (very American....), the Black-Eyed Child/ Children whose appearance is claimed to be a portent of sinister events, and numerous sightings of a ‘black puma-like cat’ (small wonder so many pet dogs disappear over the Chase….). There are certain places over Cannock Chase where ghosts and ‘paranormal experiences’ are believed to occur more frequently. One of these locations is Castle Ring on Cannock Chase. The ‘Belinus Leyline’ is one of the first leylines calculated a century ago by Alfred Watkins, and it is aligned to ‘The Spine of Albion’ from the Meon Estuary (meon = middle, so ‘middle axis’) near Fareham, Hampshire onwards via Castle Ring on Cannock Chase to three central, significant places in Scotland (Pitlochry, Inverness and Lairg). For those needing a geographical point of reference, Castle Ring is the apex of a paranormal pyramid (Milford and Wolseley Bridge being the other two points forming the triangle) and the area boasts a number of sightings and strange goings on. Roughly central along the base of the triangle is the stone Weetman Bridge across the River Trent, the location selected because the river comes the closest to the road at this point. It was built with a raised route across the flood plain, leading the traveller safely off the A513 to Little Haywood. There is another significant factor – for those who believe these things: combine the water of the River Trent (daemons cannot cross water), with the protective stone of the bridge (wooden ones burn/ rot and stone is purportedly not subject to supernatural powers), and the crossroads formed with the lane opposite that leads up to the Seven Springs area, the conditions created are as close to ‘perfect’ for paranormal activity as possible. Crossroads, for those who may not know, are associated (literally X marks the spot!) with the appearance of ghosts, witches and other creatures or events beyond the norm (that is ‘para’ normal). Crossroads were also places where criminals were hung as a warning to others contemplating vile and violent deeds. Across the A513 from Weetman Bridge is Severn Springs, a location where some have claimed to have seen an 'spectre' either rise from the water or hovering nearby.