David Plankton
I AM HIM.
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2005
- Messages
- 6,077
Before breaking up for Christmas, I had downloaded quite a few paranormal podcasts to listen to at work. One of them had an interview with Debbie Hatswell who claims she saw a 'British Bigfoot' in Salford when she was younger. (She also used to post on here a few years ago). Years later, she set up a website and gained an online presence and received lots of similar sightings from all over the UK, which had all been entered onto a google style, searchable map.
British Wildman Map - Link.
Later, I took a look at this map and naturally focused on my local patch. Not only were there 'Bigfoot' reports, but all manner of weird creatures listed, footprints and inexplicable noises. In County Durham, there was something going on in Weardale but I can't remember what it said; I was more interested in the account from Durham City itself, where someone claimed to have seen a 'Dog-Man' near Prebends Bridge and later reported this -
Maiden Castle is the site of an Iron Age hillfort, quite close to Old Durham Gardens in an area we often take walks. On Sunday the 22nd (Winter Solstice) we were in the vicinity at about 12 noon and both could hear a knocking sound coming from the top of the promontory. Too slow to be a woodpecker, it sounded like someone was hitting a tree with a stick. I remembered the above quote and made a mental note to investigate further at some point.
On Boxing Day, that opportunity arose and we headed out with the sole purpose of climbing this hill. It's densely forested and access on the North, East and South sides, while being possible, would be extremely difficult going as the sides are so steep. There is a path on the West which is not so steep but still quite a climb, so this is the way we went. Before reaching the top there is a ditch, said to be part of ancient defenses but now easily crossed and then you are on the plateau itself.
This, once the site of a small, enclosed village, is probably 150m x 100m in area and like the sides, is heavily forested. We walked along the edge, marveling at the tremendous views on offer but still mindful of the treacherous drop. It was on searching the interior that I discovered the camp-like structures and fallen trees mentioned in the quote. Obviously man-made, I counted five or six of varying sizes, the largest I imagine I could have lain down in but the smallest - and this puzzled me greatly- the smallest of these would barely have had room enough in it for a small dog. Also, the beams that were being used as support on the larger structures were about 8 or 9 inches in diameter and didn't look like they could be easily manoeuvred.
It's such a lonely, hard to reach place, I wondered why anyone would take the trouble. And then I remembered this mysterious case from a few years ago, where a solicitor was found stabbed to death near the foot of the hill in what the police described as a suicide. But they never found the weapon.
Daily Mail Link.
I'm not suggesting he was killed by a British Bigfoot, or even by a ghostly tribe of Iron Age warriors but it's a very strange story.
My pictures from Boxing Day -
British Wildman Map - Link.
Later, I took a look at this map and naturally focused on my local patch. Not only were there 'Bigfoot' reports, but all manner of weird creatures listed, footprints and inexplicable noises. In County Durham, there was something going on in Weardale but I can't remember what it said; I was more interested in the account from Durham City itself, where someone claimed to have seen a 'Dog-Man' near Prebends Bridge and later reported this -
Maiden Castle is the site of an Iron Age hillfort, quite close to Old Durham Gardens in an area we often take walks. On Sunday the 22nd (Winter Solstice) we were in the vicinity at about 12 noon and both could hear a knocking sound coming from the top of the promontory. Too slow to be a woodpecker, it sounded like someone was hitting a tree with a stick. I remembered the above quote and made a mental note to investigate further at some point.
On Boxing Day, that opportunity arose and we headed out with the sole purpose of climbing this hill. It's densely forested and access on the North, East and South sides, while being possible, would be extremely difficult going as the sides are so steep. There is a path on the West which is not so steep but still quite a climb, so this is the way we went. Before reaching the top there is a ditch, said to be part of ancient defenses but now easily crossed and then you are on the plateau itself.
This, once the site of a small, enclosed village, is probably 150m x 100m in area and like the sides, is heavily forested. We walked along the edge, marveling at the tremendous views on offer but still mindful of the treacherous drop. It was on searching the interior that I discovered the camp-like structures and fallen trees mentioned in the quote. Obviously man-made, I counted five or six of varying sizes, the largest I imagine I could have lain down in but the smallest - and this puzzled me greatly- the smallest of these would barely have had room enough in it for a small dog. Also, the beams that were being used as support on the larger structures were about 8 or 9 inches in diameter and didn't look like they could be easily manoeuvred.
It's such a lonely, hard to reach place, I wondered why anyone would take the trouble. And then I remembered this mysterious case from a few years ago, where a solicitor was found stabbed to death near the foot of the hill in what the police described as a suicide. But they never found the weapon.
Daily Mail Link.
I'm not suggesting he was killed by a British Bigfoot, or even by a ghostly tribe of Iron Age warriors but it's a very strange story.
My pictures from Boxing Day -
