• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Phantom Hitchhikers & Road Ghosts

Floyd1 said:
Have we had this one fron Sevenoaks?

A21 Sevenoaks Bypass. Many motorists have claimed that they have experienced paranormal activity on the A21, numerous even stating that they have seen strange figures stepping out in front of cars and then completely disappearing.

Where the new dual carriageway intersects with the *Old Gracious Lane* it is reputedly stated to be the most haunted part of the road. It has been claimed that the road disappears and is replaced by a false road which takes the car to the right.

Ghost hunters have blamed several fatal collisions over the years on this appearance.

*Gracious lane (red line) was cut in two when the bypass was built, and another nearby was removed (black).
View attachment 74059
Click to expand...
This story fascinates me, as does the story of the railway crash in Sevenoaks/associated ghosts as I have a connection to Sevenoaks and go back there regularly.
 
Earthly oddity said:
This story fascinates me, as does the story of the railway crash in Sevenoaks/associated ghosts as I have a connection to Sevenoaks and go back there regularly.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if I know about that offhand. I'll have to check. It rings a bell though.

I'm glad you like the road story.

I haven't had chance to look into it any further yet, but it does seem an ideal place considering there used to be a road where the apparitions appear.

@Tunn11 is our man on the ground there.
We'll send him out for a recce.
 
Floyd1 said:
I thought that, but it's from South Africa in 1968;
Click to expand...
That was great! I love the Uniondale case, so many named witnesses, like Blue Bell Hill. It makes me wonder if anyone looked for any ancient monuments along the road in question, since I have some gut feeling that the Kit's Coty House dolmen is somehow linked to the Blue Bell Hill encounters.
 
Last edited:
Floyd1 said:
I'm not sure if I know about that offhand. I'll have to check. It rings a bell though.

I'm glad you like the road story.

I haven't had chance to look into it any further yet, but it does seem an ideal place considering there used to be a road where the apparitions appear.

@Tunn11 is our man on the ground there.
We'll send him out for a recce.
Click to expand...
Some synchronicity here as I had just been reading about this in @RuthRoperWylde 's excellent "Roadmap of British Ghosts vol 2"

Gracious Lane was used as a temporary diversion in 1967 when the by pass was built:

"An extension southwards to a temporary junction with Gracious Lane opened on 16 January 1967. It was for northbound traffic only. A section south of here had to be rebuilt on a different alignment owing to landslips because of the slippery clay sub-soil. "The Builder" reported that advice at the planning stage from local farmers was ignored and the piers of the Hubbards Hill Bridge were at 5 to 10 degrees from vertical within a few weeks. The diversion was to cost an extra £1.2 million. To compound matters the new Morants Court bridge was having to be partially rebuilt owing to porous pockets in the concrete caused by a breakdown in the pouring of concrete one night."

Source: https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Network_changes_-_1960s

Also the more detailed article@Floyd1 posted on the unwhinge thread. Link here: https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/a21


Currently Gracious Lane is at a much higher elevation than the A21
GL Bridge WfRDRFXOEZxPKtB-800x450-noPad.jpg


and had become a "popular" site for suicides leading to petitions to make the bridge safer.

This from https://www.change.org/p/sevenoaks-...d-rails-on-gracious-lane-bridge-to-save-lives

"A number of people have sadly taken their lives by jumping from Gracious Lane bridge over the A21 in Sevenoaks. There are Samaritans signs on the bridge but we need to do more to protect both the people who are considering jumping and those that are at risk when driving on the A21, not only from seeing someone jumping from the bridge but also the risk of serious injury.
By introducing high guard rails people will not be able to jump."

I'm not sure about that, it is more difficult for them to jump, certainly but not impossible. The road works for this took ages with local MP getting involved in the length of time taken, road closures, etc.

I'm not sure (still looking) whether what is now "Tonbridge Rd" on the south of Sevenoaks used to be designated the A21 before the by pass was built. That certainly had and still has a level junction with Gracious Lane.
Here's streetview looking north:
https://www.instantstreetview.com/@51.251458,0.200887,307.96h,-1.53p,1z,_F_BnlIe4V8SFQqvw2nLWQ

This seems a more likely place to see a road veering to the right.

Another location given to @RuthRoperWylde was at the junction of the A21 with the A25 at Bat and Ball but that is some way from Gracious Lane and is now the A225/A25 junction (Although that may have been the old A21)

So are these stories from the old A21 or the new by pass? Is there a link between the suicides and any newer ghost reports or is there something about this area that attracts tragedy? Gracious Lane Bridge is I'd guess not that busy compared to other bridges in the area (A25/A21 for instance) and the height I'd imagine pretty much guarantees a swift end even without the traffic below which may be the attraction to someone in that state.
 
Tunn11 said:
Some synchronicity here as I had just been reading about this in @RuthRoperWylde 's excellent "Roadmap of British Ghosts vol 2"

Gracious Lane was used as a temporary diversion in 1967 when the by pass was built:

"An extension southwards to a temporary junction with Gracious Lane opened on 16 January 1967. It was for northbound traffic only. A section south of here had to be rebuilt on a different alignment owing to landslips because of the slippery clay sub-soil. "The Builder" reported that advice at the planning stage from local farmers was ignored and the piers of the Hubbards Hill Bridge were at 5 to 10 degrees from vertical within a few weeks. The diversion was to cost an extra £1.2 million. To compound matters the new Morants Court bridge was having to be partially rebuilt owing to porous pockets in the concrete caused by a breakdown in the pouring of concrete one night."

Source: https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Network_changes_-_1960s

Also the more detailed article@Floyd1 posted on the unwhinge thread. Link here: https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/a21


Currently Gracious Lane is at a much higher elevation than the A21
View attachment 74111

and had become a "popular" site for suicides leading to petitions to make the bridge safer.

This from https://www.change.org/p/sevenoaks-...d-rails-on-gracious-lane-bridge-to-save-lives

"A number of people have sadly taken their lives by jumping from Gracious Lane bridge over the A21 in Sevenoaks. There are Samaritans signs on the bridge but we need to do more to protect both the people who are considering jumping and those that are at risk when driving on the A21, not only from seeing someone jumping from the bridge but also the risk of serious injury.
By introducing high guard rails people will not be able to jump."

I'm not sure about that, it is more difficult for them to jump, certainly but not impossible. The road works for this took ages with local MP getting involved in the length of time taken, road closures, etc.

I'm not sure (still looking) whether what is now "Tonbridge Rd" on the south of Sevenoaks used to be designated the A21 before the by pass was built. That certainly had and still has a level junction with Gracious Lane.
Here's streetview looking north:
Click to expand...
Yes, it seems that Tonbridge road was the A21 before the bypass was built.

so.png

Tunn11 said:
This seems a more likely place to see a road veering to the right.

Another location given to @RuthRoperWylde was at the junction of the A21 with the A25 at Bat and Ball but that is some way from Gracious Lane and is now the A225/A25 junction (Although that may have been the old A21)

So are these stories from the old A21 or the new by pass?
Click to expand...
The article does say; Where the new dual carriageway intersects with the Old Gracious Lane.
 
Floyd1 said:
Yes, it seems that Tonbridge road was the A21 before the bypass was built.

View attachment 74114

The article does say; Where the new dual carriageway intersects with the Old Gracious Lane.
Click to expand...
Whoops! Yes, I suppose the road layout on the new road could confuse there, especially at night. Not a very likely place to see a real pedestrian though.
 
Just a thought here. but many cars now have some sort of collision warning system that alerts you if you are in danger of hitting anything. Has anyone with one of these systems reported one of the "jumped out in front of me ghosts" and if so did it trigger the collision alert?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top