Spooky places to visit this year

COVER STORY

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Creating your home office It is important to create the right home-working environment for you

PROPERTY

8

Stylish wallpaper ideas The hottest home decor trends this year

Our latest instructions Take a look at a selection of our latest properties on the market

TRAVEL

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Spooky places to visit this year Our guide to 5 of the spookiest locations in and around the UK

LIFESTYLE

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How to carve a pumpkin Here are some hints and tips to help you out With the property market thriving, if you’re thinking about moving but haven’t started the process, we have put safety guidelines in place to ensure your safety. And with our expert local knowledge, we have all the tools you need to get you moving – including a FREE personalised website for you to share on social media. This month’s issue provides you with a wide range of articles including the most stylish wallpaper trends for 2021, how to create the perfect home office and the biggest sporting events this month. It’s Halloween month, and knowing it’ll be a Halloween like we’ve never

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Half-term days out We take a look at some of the family days out available

Halloween party at home A great guide to make it a special celebration at home

Power women at the box office These leading ladies are set to take over the box office

SPORT

12 October Sporting Events Let’s have a look at some of the biggest events this month

FOOD

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Halloween recipes A selection of recipes to ensure your spooky night

WELCOME TO THE OCTOBER ISSUE!

Summer seems a distant memory experienced before we have helped already! We have been blessed create a guide to throwing the perfect with warm weather throughout Halloween party at home including which has been a great benefit in these how to carve a pumpkin, some great strange times. games and some spooky recipes too.

goes well How is it nearly half-term? Never fear though, we have a selection of great half-term, family days out as well as a guide to the top 5 spooky places to visit in the UK. And finally, we take a look at the Power-Women taking over at the box office this month.

Please note, we are doing our best to be accurate, but in these strange times, all the dates and availability at attractions may change, however, were correct at the time of writing.

Till next time…

Jonathan Wheatley Editor

TOP5 SPOOKY PLACES TO VISIT IN THE UK THIS YEAR

It’s that time of year where we are all looking for a good scare and where better to start than some of the most terrifying places around the UK…

On the build-up to Halloween, some of us get comfy on the sofa with a good horror film, while others are more adventurous. If you are the thrillseeker type, check out our guide to 5 of the spookiest locations in and around the UK.

BUCKLAND ABBEY, DEVON We’ll start with a celebrity ghost. We all learned about Sir Francis Drake in school. In life, he was a national hero, a sea captain, naval officer and explorer who was famed for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition from 1577 to 1580. Buckland Abbey was sold to Sir Francis Drake in 1580 after the expedition and he made it his home.

However, many locals feared the intrepid, and recently Knighted explorer, believing he had supernatural powers. Some even said he had made a pact with the Devil which was how he had defeated the Spanish Armada. In death, his ghost is now believed to haunt Buckland Abbey and ride across Dartmoor in a black coach driven by headless horses led by goblins and pursued by barking dogs.

Buckland Abbey is run by the National Trust and you can visit it all year round.

Spooky fact: It has been suggested that the ghost story even inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write The Hound of the Baskervilles.

CROFT CASTLE, WEST MIDLANDS Croft Castle is said to be ‘The most haunted house in the Midlands,’ and amongst the seven spectres, it also has a famous resident, Welsh freedom fighter, Owain Glyndwr. Glyndwr was a Welsh leader born in 1359 who instigated a fierce war of independence against the English and was the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales.

The Croft family, where the castle got its name, are descendants of the famous Welshman, who is believed to haunt the castle as a seven-foot figure clad in a leather jerkin. Members of staff at the castle have also reported the cries of a wailing baby and a spectral figure wearing a grey doublet. In one of the windows, a woman has been seen wearing a crinoline (a stiff petticoat) who is believed to be a member of the Croft family.

Croft Castle is also run by the National Trust and you can visit all year round. Spooky fact: Members of staff have reported hearing their names being called when no one is around. PLUCKLEY, KENT Pluckley in Kent is in the Guinness Book of Records as the ‘Most haunted village in Britain.’ This quaint village is reputed to have between 12-14 ghosts including the spectre of a highwayman in a tree, the ghost of a gipsy woman who drowned in a nearby stream, a phantom coach and horse, the old miller on Mill Hill, the hanging body of a schoolmaster, a colonel, a man smothered in clay, the Lady of Rose Court, the White Lady and the Red Lady. One of the most famous haunted spots is the pub, The Blacksmith’s Arms, which was previously called The Spectre’s Arms and the Ghost’s Arms because of the number of hauntings and strange occurences. The pub is not haunted by just one, but three ghosts: A Tudor maid, a coachman and a Cavalier. Pluckley, Kent, is a village like any other with two pubs, however, to get the full spooky experience you can book a ghost walk with London Walking Tours Spooky fact: Nearby, the aptly named Screaming Woods, is a real tourist trap with brave tourists choosing to camp overnight. TREASURER’S HOUSE, YORK Treasurer’s House, nestled in the centre of York, has over 2000-years of history running through its veins. Renovated by Frank Green, a wealthy industrialist and passionate collector, Treasure’s House was used to showcase his collections including antique furniture, art and textiles.

An 18-year old engineer, who later became a policeman, named Henry Martindale has the best-known account of the spooky goings-on in the house. One day, when Martindale was installing a boiler in the cellars, he heard the sound of a trumpet and saw a soldier’s helmet emerge from the wall he was working. As he watched, around 20 further spectral soldiers emerged armed with lances, short swords and round shields.

Treasurer’s House is also run by the National

Trust and you can visit all year round. Spooky fact: It was revealed that 18-inches below the current cellar floor, archaeologists revealed

evidence of an ancient Roman road. CANNOCK CHASE FOREST, STAFFORDSHIRE Cannock Chase forest is a natural beauty spot in Staffordshire, however, it also has a horrid history including murder and chilling sightings of a spectre known locally as ‘The Black Eyed Child.’ First spotted over 30-years ago, the sightings have restarted over the past decade. Recent descriptions of the spectre are eerily similar to those in the 80s, where a child, with coal-black pits for eye sockets, haunts the woods.

It is a hot-spot for paranormal investigators who have also heard stories around the world regarding other children with the same eerie eyes, however, only in Cannock Chase do the sightings consistently happen during the daytime. Often the sightings will happen after hearing screams. The child will appear with her hands over her eyes, before revealing her ghastly form.

Cannock Chase Forest is run by Forestry England and boasts a children’s play area, orienteering trails and Go Ape.

Spooky fact: During the 1960s three young girls were murdered in what became known as ‘The Cannock Chase Murders.’