Dunstanburgh Castle Revisited
Visited 28 August 2005
Last September we spent two nights at Dunstanburgh with some success, however I knew Dunstanburgh had more to offer and even said at the end of my report that maybe it’ll be third time lucky. Well tonight was the night to find out as I head back to Dunstanbugh Castle.
Ryan and Tom are away in sunny Malia, and Harry had been magically spirited away by the beer fairies so my sole companion tonight was Dan. I drove to his house in Morpeth and jumped in his car for the remainder of the journey North up the A1.
Ryan and Tom are away in sunny Malia, and Harry had been magically spirited away by the beer fairies so my sole companion tonight was Dan. I drove to his house in Morpeth and jumped in his car for the remainder of the journey North up the A1.
We had left Dan’s not long after 8pm and it was already getting dark. On the way I told Dan about the history of the castle and the ghosts that haunt the place. We pulled up next to Craster harbour at 8:40pm and it was already a lot darker but across the fields a little over a mile away we could clearly see the jagged ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. It certainly is an imposing sight, and the fact you have to walk across the fields away from the streetlights and safety of Craster towards the darkness and isolation of the castle, doesn’t make it any less so. As darkness slowly falls, spirits are climbing out of their daytime hiding places and inhabiting the castle awaiting our arrival. We collected our equipment, locked the car, and entered the field.
We walked through the field, the weather was now starting to take a turn for the worse. The wind was getting up and it was getting darker even quicker. “We could get murdered out here and no one would ever know” Dan said out of the blue. “Does anyone know you’re here?” he asked. “No” came my reply. Dan hadn’t told anyone where we were going either and neither of us had brought a phone. We kept walking. We’d walked about half a mile when it suddenly hit me like a sledgehammer. A medium had emailed me on Friday warning me that she’d had a premonition that I would go somewhere with turrets this weekend on an investigation and something bad would happen. At the time I thought nothing of it because I had planned to go somewhere else, somewhere that doesn’t have turrets, but due to unforeseen circumstances it wasn’t a feasible option this weekend. Dunstanburgh Castle has turrets. I was in two minds whether to tell Dan this or not as he was obviously very apprehensive already, but I decided to tell him anyway so we could both be on guard and be extra careful. I was now very worried.
We finally reached the castle. We looked behind us and the lights from the pub we were parked outside seemed so far away, we were in the middle of nowhere and had no contact with anyone. As I headed towards the entrance, Dan seemed hesitant but he followed cautiously. It’s difficult to express quite how daunting this place is after dark, this is only the second investigation Dan has been on and this castle isn’t a very welcoming location. We walked through the long stone archway towards the courtyard scanning the area ahead of us to make sure no one was here already.
We stood silently for a few minutes in the courtyard, Dan admitted he didn’t like it here. He was scared and who can blame him.
We finally reached the castle. We looked behind us and the lights from the pub we were parked outside seemed so far away, we were in the middle of nowhere and had no contact with anyone. As I headed towards the entrance, Dan seemed hesitant but he followed cautiously. It’s difficult to express quite how daunting this place is after dark, this is only the second investigation Dan has been on and this castle isn’t a very welcoming location. We walked through the long stone archway towards the courtyard scanning the area ahead of us to make sure no one was here already.
We stood silently for a few minutes in the courtyard, Dan admitted he didn’t like it here. He was scared and who can blame him.
When we were convinced no one else was here we decided to head to Lilburn tower first at the back of the castle area. This is where Mary of Anjou has been seen and heard weeping. I took a lot of photos and we both wandered around the tower but seen and heard nothing.
We were walking back across to the courtyard when I heard someone groan. I heard it as clear as day. I turned but there was no one there. I asked Dan if he’d heard anything but he said he hadn’t.
Back in the courtyard it was pitch black now. I looked at the windows in the top of the main keep of the castle, I had the same feeling I had on my two previous visits – a feeling of being watched. Just to the right of the entranceway there are two doorways, the furthest right of these leads to some stairs which you can climb up to the top of the keep.
We were walking back across to the courtyard when I heard someone groan. I heard it as clear as day. I turned but there was no one there. I asked Dan if he’d heard anything but he said he hadn’t.
Back in the courtyard it was pitch black now. I looked at the windows in the top of the main keep of the castle, I had the same feeling I had on my two previous visits – a feeling of being watched. Just to the right of the entranceway there are two doorways, the furthest right of these leads to some stairs which you can climb up to the top of the keep.
As we walked through the entrance to the stairs Dan stopped. “We’re going up there?” he asked hesitantly. We pressed ahead, Dan led the way and I followed close behind. The weather outside had worsened now and we could hear the rumble of the sea not too far away, the wind whistled through the staircase we were ascending. We exited onto the first floor. I had a feeling of being followed and constantly took photos behind me but didn’t get anything on camera. We had a walk around and it was very frightening, in the back of my mind was the medium’s warning. Something bad was meant to happen and this was as likely a place as any. We made our way up to the top floor, the highest point of the castle as it stands now. There is a staggering view across the fields and out to see. Dan took this opportunity to tell me he is afraid of heights. “You know, when we were coming up the stairs I could have sworn I heard a voice” Dan told me. I’d heard nothing but the wind was blowing so loudly that it was difficult to even hear what Dan was saying, so if he had heard something clearly it must have been pretty close to him. We made our way back down and I still had a feeling I was being followed. I was holding on to the handrail tightly but as I nearer the bottom I almost fell but managed to regain my balance. Perhaps if the medium hadn’t warned me to be careful I might not have been so fortunate.
Back on terra firma we explored the other ruined rooms, the place still didn’t feel ‘right’ but nothing happened. We decided to call it a night and head back towards the car. Walking through the field it was difficult to tell the difference between the field, the sea and the footpath, everything just looked black. We were chatting about the medium’s premonition and how nothing bad happened to us. “We haven’t been killed……….yet” was my reply. “Why did you have to go and say that!!” came Dan’s worried response. We finally got back to the car and Dan was relieved to be back in the safety of his Renault Megane. Driving back up the winding roads, Daniel Schumacher didn’t seem too aware of the sharp bends in the road and nearly came off taking one hairpin corner at over 60 mph! I neglected to mention earlier in my report that on the way to the castle he didn’t spot a T junction and slammed on the brakes too late and went straight across the junction onto the other side of the road, if anything had been coming the other way we’d have been most likely seriously injured or maybe even killed. The medium was pretty damn close to being right!!
Conclusion
We had a fantastic time at Dunstanburgh, the place is so atmospheric, it’s unreal. We both heard a voice but unfortunately both at different times so we can’t rule out imagination or it simply being the wind or an animal. I took over 50 photos so I was disappointed not to capture something on the pictures as I got some great orbs last time here. It’s well worth a visit, but it probably isn’t safe in a small group, like we were in tonight.
