• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.
When I think "stairs found in woods", two thoughts immediately occur to me:

1. Are they used for mounting horses? Here are some results from a Google Image search under "horse mounting steps":

81f5683bb68d9be1e6bcf0400f0164d5--mounting-block-and-clothing.jpg


f3742896cd070b5796ce8bf8a57fdd54.jpg


TH-LEGACY-IMAGE-ID-444-horse-objecting-to-rider-mounting.jpg


2. Are they fly-tipped waste that has either come to rest in a vertical orientation, or been adjusted that way by surrealistically-inclined passers-by? After all, we don't assume supernatural/alien intervention when we come across scenes like this:

Hospital-Lane-Fridge-dump-July-2017.jpg


a-fly-tipped-fridge-at-a-woodland-beauty-spot-b5frjc.jpg


maximus otter
 
stairs.jpg


These steps can be found right at the top of Mill Road, in Cromer to the right hand side in small woodland .... no mystery why they're there, this area used to have a train station in the late 1800's but I think they still look cool ..
 
Having lived in the woods in New England, they are full of ruins of abandoned farms. Originally the land there was much more cultivated than it is now, having been replaced by the mega-farms further west. So the steps may well have been part of a house or other farm building now otherwise disappeared.
 
Having lived in the woods in New England, they are full of ruins of abandoned farms. Originally the land there was much more cultivated than it is now, having been replaced by the mega-farms further west. So the steps may well have been part of a house or other farm building now otherwise disappeared.
Cheers, I might have to pop into our local museum and see if anyone knows or has any old pics of anything similar .. the rail track was about 20ft away from these steps ... I should also add that the heavily populated Mill Road is about 50ft in the opposite direction so it's not in an as remote location as the picture suggests ..
 
Last edited:
Close to where my Grandparents lived in Tennessee, there was a natural spring outlet near the base of a mountain where somebody put a pipe to focus the water, and put it over a large bathing tub. Locals knew it was there and would go and get water from time to time, but if you saw it by itself just sitting in the woods it probably seemed freakish because there is nothing around it. And no, not sure why the tub was there, unless maybe somebody with a mule could put their animal to drinking out of the tub while the human partook of the pipe.
 
2. Are they fly-tipped waste that has either come to rest in a vertical orientation, or been adjusted that way by surrealistically-inclined passers-by? After all, we don't assume supernatural/alien intervention when we come across scenes like this:

a-fly-tipped-fridge-at-a-woodland-beauty-spot-b5frjc.jpg


maximus otter
That's not waste, that's an Emergency Nuclear Shelter! :D
 
Cheers, I might have to pop into our local museum and see if anyone knows or has any old pics of anything similar .. the rail track was about 20ft away from these steps ... I should also add that the heavily populated Mill Road is about 50ft in the opposite direction so it's not in an as remote location as the picture suggests ..

Cromer, Norfolk, right? If so, details of station here:

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/cromer_high/
 
When I think "stairs found in woods", two thoughts immediately occur to me:

1. Are they used for mounting horses? Here are some results from a Google Image search under "horse mounting steps":

81f5683bb68d9be1e6bcf0400f0164d5--mounting-block-and-clothing.jpg


f3742896cd070b5796ce8bf8a57fdd54.jpg


TH-LEGACY-IMAGE-ID-444-horse-objecting-to-rider-mounting.jpg


2. Are they fly-tipped waste that has either come to rest in a vertical orientation, or been adjusted that way by surrealistically-inclined passers-by? After all, we don't assume supernatural/alien intervention when we come across scenes like this:

Hospital-Lane-Fridge-dump-July-2017.jpg


a-fly-tipped-fridge-at-a-woodland-beauty-spot-b5frjc.jpg


maximus otter

It could be a trans dimensional white goods store whose stock was damaged while in the spatial vortex causing only partial partial reconstruction in our timeline making it look like rubbish dumped by gypsies in an otherwise area of outstanding natural beauty. I wonder what happened to the zero hours contract sales staff as they seem to have disappeared.
 
Close to where my Grandparents lived in Tennessee, there was a natural spring outlet near the base of a mountain where somebody put a pipe to focus the water, and put it over a large bathing tub. Locals knew it was there and would go and get water from time to time, but if you saw it by itself just sitting in the woods it probably seemed freakish because there is nothing around it. And no, not sure why the tub was there, unless maybe somebody with a mule could put their animal to drinking out of the tub while the human partook of the pipe.

I'm from the east Tennessee mountains, and I've seen the same setup in multiple locations (especially back in my childhood). My grandfather told me the common placement of a tub or trough at such a spring's pipe was precisely for the reason you suspected.

There are still remote / outlying locations where such springs remain some folks' primary source for drinking water. There are still a lot of folks who appreciate and prefer fresh spring water over the 'city-supplied' stuff - especially for making coffee / tea and mixing with your favorite whiskey.

Almost 50 years ago my father made a point to stop at such a spring beside US route 25E on the northern side of Clinch Mountain whenever we passed by there. Even though we lived circa 60 - 70 miles away he knew of the spring's reputation. I pass by it regularly when commuting to / from the ancestral stomping grounds, and it's still common to see one or more parties getting water there (everything from personal sips to filling jerry cans). The old twisty 2-lane road is now a 4-lane highway. The original metal pipe has been replaced with a plastic one, and now there's even an overhead light shining throughout the night.

... And the water is still as good as it ever was ...

ed4a16ad-a7e3-41b8-9523-0787f6fb59c7.jpg


SOURCE (with more info): https://www.geocaching.com/geocache...ing?guid=29d14a17-7f81-41f2-a63e-c9e674a80aff
 
... These steps can be found right at the top of Mill Road, in Cromer to the right hand side in small woodland .... no mystery why they're there, this area used to have a train station in the late 1800's but I think they still look cool ..

I've found smaller versions of such pre-cast concrete steps out in the woods where remote cabins once stood. In some cases they're the most 'solid', if not the sole, evidence any structure ever existed there.
 
I've found smaller versions of such pre-cast concrete steps out in the woods where remote cabins once stood. In some cases they're the most 'solid', if not the sole, evidence any structure ever existed there.
Yeah, those steps could have been connected to a cabin behind the building I suppose although they look a bit too well made for them to have been for a private property ... they also look about the same height as the train platform ... dunno? ..
 
Yeah, those steps could have been connected to a cabin behind the building I suppose although they look a bit too well made for them to have been for a private property ... they also look about the same height as the train platform ... dunno? ..
They could be to do with the train platform but they could also be a permanent set of the horse mounting steps mentioned above. There is a set of them in Aberlady, East Lothian. I always walk up them when going in that direction, forgetting that there are no down steps on the other side and I have to jump!
 
They could be to do with the train platform but they could also be a permanent set of the horse mounting steps mentioned above. There is a set of them in Aberlady, East Lothian. I always walk up them when going in that direction, forgetting that there are no down steps on the other side and I have to jump!
That sounds just as likely Min .. I've been thinking about making a mini supernatural film based on some of the stories linked to in this thread around the steps btw, they seem too good not to use.
 
Ok, I've posted about this in other forums, whenever I mention, "Why are the stairs blocked off at the top?.". It kills the thread (four times). Now if I can remember how to post an image......bloody stairs.jpg
 
hunk says:
That actually is an art piece from Forest of Dean sculpture trail. Link. Doesn't explain any others - are there photos? If I came across a weird staircase in the middle of nowhere I'd certainly want to take a picture.
 
Ok, I've posted about this in other forums, whenever I mention, "Why are the stairs blocked off at the top?.". It kills the thread (four times). Now if I can remember how to post an image......View attachment 7048

As already mentioned more than once in this thread, that particular staircase is an artwork. However ...

It's generally identical to the more modest purpose-built elevated observation structures I've seen in parks and nature preserves. More elaborate ones that get more foot traffic typically include a platform at the top to which the stairs lead, such as this:

images.jpeg


However, in more modest / remote settings where fewer visitors are expected, I've seen versions for which the Forest of Dean art piece represents an exact match:

- the structure is basically no more than the staircase
- the top end is closed off (blocked or barred)
- the topmost 'step' is however marginally larger (than the other stair steps) it must be to accommodate one or maybe two standing people.

I've usually encountered these smaller observation structures around ponds or marshlands. (This is another factor that would have made me consider the art structure as 'authentic' had it not been identified as an art installation.)

In the 1970's I visited a small nature preserve in East Tennessee (somewhere between Greeneville and the Smoky Mountains) where just such a basic structure was provided for observing migrating birds alongside a marsh / pond.

I can't readily locate any photos of this stripped-down observation platform constructed in wood, but I can point you to a quite grand (and seemingly Fortean ... ) example of the configuration in Belgium:

vlooyberg-tower-belgium-1.jpg


vlooyberg-2.jpg


Here's the URL to a webpage explaining it ...

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/05/03/v...athering-steel-staircase-observation-belgium/
 
View attachment 7036

These steps can be found right at the top of Mill Road, in Cromer to the right hand side in small woodland .... no mystery why they're there, this area used to have a train station in the late 1800's but I think they still look cool ..
I bumped into a mate today just around the corner from these steps (or not, I'll get to that later). I told him about the steps and although he's lived in Cromer his whole life, he's never been up to the area of the old rail tracks or the small woodland beneath so enthusiastically agreed to come along with his 3 year old daughter so off we all marched, the tot sat on his shoulders. We told her we were going to look at some magic stairs in the woods:) ...

Nearing the top of different stairs that lead down to the wooded area, a black cat darted away from us which set the atmosphere nicely and gave her the giggles. The stairs leading down to the area are notable in themselves in that they've got a thick tree stump sticking out and growing through the middle of them. I'll hopefully provide a link to someone's vid of those stairs in this post ..

We got into the tiny woods, an acre and a half at the most but none of us could find the 'magic' steps despite covering every angle so put it down to the place being more overgrown than the last time I visited and called it a day ..

I mentioned this to the Mrs when I got home and she told me she hadn't seen white steps down there during the only previous time we'd visited which confused me. She's normally right about these things so suggested I post the picture of them on a Cromer based facebook page .. I have done and the conversation's taken off like wildfire, various other locations have been proposed with two (so far) local people also feeling they remember seeing the steps in the exact same location (and it IS a tiny location) ... I just wish someone had invented a portable strimmer but I don't know what to make of the steps being there or not, like the other two people, I strongly feel they are but expect they aren't .. very strange ..
 
These stairs 'to nowhere' back up Maximus and Mini's trains of thought to me, a pathway alongside them so they could use the stairs to mount (or dismount) from a horse ..

stairs5.png


These below are less weird to me because they were obviously once connected to a building

stairs4.JPG


... and next stairs going up a slope ? .. proof of the paranormal !!!!!

stairs1.jpg


They still look cool though :) .. but this next one is the best of them all ... wish I lived near this one ..

abandoned-monumental-staircase-overgrown-woods-24301856.jpg
 
Woman explains why you should always 'stay away' from random staircases in the woods

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-explains-you-should-always-24814350
She doesn't really explain why you shouldn't, just that she thinks it's a bad idea due to UL's about kids going missing in woods, it's also odd that some people think the staircases lead to hell, surely they would be staircases going down rather than up. The staircases are certainly odd, but I wouldn't say there is anything paranormal about them.
 
Back
Top