Otterburn Battlefield
Visited 10 October 2004
Over 600 years ago 10,000 soldiers lost their life during The Battle of Otterburn. Ever since there have been stories of ghostly soldiers recreating the battle as if the events that happened here have stained the land and these poor souls are trapped here forever more. There are very few reports, if any, of investigations being carried out here, so on this cold, rainy October night I headed to Otterburn.
The battle of Otterburn took place in 1388 on the 15th of August, on a small strip of land between the present A696 and Otterburn Hall. A very successful raid by the Scots under the command of the Earl of Douglas, led to this conflict with the outnumbered, but always determined, Harry Hotspur and the Percy army.
Following a raid on Newcastle, deep into the Percy lands, Douglas retreated northwards, aware of the chase which Hotspur had mounted after Newcastle had been attacked, and it would appear had awaited him near Otterburn. In this way he had ensured that his men were rested before the conflict would begin. Hotspur, in keeping with his nature, had driven on and arrived late in the day with his army tired. Instead of following the convention of beginning the battle at a pre-arranged time in the morning, Hotspur attacked at night. In the confusion, the Scots held the battlefield and captured Hotspur as he tried to flee. The remnants of the Percy’s were hounded until they were killed or captured. Hotspur was later ransomed.
In 1888 a spectral battle of Otterburn was witnessed by Percival Hall and John Ellesden, who were out late driving their sheep. They claim to have heard the sounds of approaching horses and trumpets braying. Then upon a ridge above them cavalry appeared in it’s 14th century armour, which divided into three columns and raced away from them. When the two men got to the top of the rise, by the light of the moon, Hall claimed to have seen the ethereal figures of men in combat and heard the distinctive clamour of battle. Ellesden saw nothing and yet he too heard the sounds of clashing swords, horses and dying men.
A more recent sighting occurred in 1960, whilst Mrs Dorothy Strong was using a taxi in the area of the battle. According to the report in the magazine, Weekend., the taxi started to behave very oddly for the engine died, the fare-meter decided to operate on it’s own and amount an enormous fare charge and it was described as though the taxi was being forced against a wall.
Soldiers were seen to be closing in on the vehicle, but before they reached it they vanished.
Following a raid on Newcastle, deep into the Percy lands, Douglas retreated northwards, aware of the chase which Hotspur had mounted after Newcastle had been attacked, and it would appear had awaited him near Otterburn. In this way he had ensured that his men were rested before the conflict would begin. Hotspur, in keeping with his nature, had driven on and arrived late in the day with his army tired. Instead of following the convention of beginning the battle at a pre-arranged time in the morning, Hotspur attacked at night. In the confusion, the Scots held the battlefield and captured Hotspur as he tried to flee. The remnants of the Percy’s were hounded until they were killed or captured. Hotspur was later ransomed.
In 1888 a spectral battle of Otterburn was witnessed by Percival Hall and John Ellesden, who were out late driving their sheep. They claim to have heard the sounds of approaching horses and trumpets braying. Then upon a ridge above them cavalry appeared in it’s 14th century armour, which divided into three columns and raced away from them. When the two men got to the top of the rise, by the light of the moon, Hall claimed to have seen the ethereal figures of men in combat and heard the distinctive clamour of battle. Ellesden saw nothing and yet he too heard the sounds of clashing swords, horses and dying men.
A more recent sighting occurred in 1960, whilst Mrs Dorothy Strong was using a taxi in the area of the battle. According to the report in the magazine, Weekend., the taxi started to behave very oddly for the engine died, the fare-meter decided to operate on it’s own and amount an enormous fare charge and it was described as though the taxi was being forced against a wall.
Soldiers were seen to be closing in on the vehicle, but before they reached it they vanished.
I was joined on this investigation by Ryan Elwell, Harry Dalton and Thomas Kirkup. We set off at about 9pm for the 45 minute drive to Otterburn. I was very excited about this ghost hunt, there are stories about the happenings here but it's virtually an untapped resource. I had a good feeling about this one. Battlefields are often overlooked when organisations carry out vigils, but when you think of the blood shed here, 10,000 people were killed here in one day! It has to be worth a visit.
We arrived in the car park which is a small area surrounded by trees, I turned off the car lights and we were engulfed by the darkness. It was absolutely pitch black, there were no street lights and the moon and the stars were nowhere to be seen. The torches soon came on and we put on warm clothes to protect us from the freezing cold. Winter was well on the way "Has anyone got a spare hat?" asked Ryan, as ill prepared as ever. Pretty soon we were ready to begin exploring this small wooded area where so many people were slain.
We arrived in the car park which is a small area surrounded by trees, I turned off the car lights and we were engulfed by the darkness. It was absolutely pitch black, there were no street lights and the moon and the stars were nowhere to be seen. The torches soon came on and we put on warm clothes to protect us from the freezing cold. Winter was well on the way "Has anyone got a spare hat?" asked Ryan, as ill prepared as ever. Pretty soon we were ready to begin exploring this small wooded area where so many people were slain.
We started off by reading the large board in the car park about the battle which hit home to the others exactly what happened here. We walked into the small field which is the only part of the battlefield still open to the public, to our right were picnic benches and in front of us was a large monument, The Douglas Cross. We wandered throughout the field, looking through the darkness for any signs of movement, listening carefully for anything unusual. We read the board in the top left corner of the field for more information about the battle and in which parts of the battlefield people lost their lives.
We headed back over to the picnic area and the four of us sat in silence in absolute darkness to see what we could feel, hear, see and smell. After a short while Ryan and Tom could hear what sounded like footsteps walking on leaves. There was no one there but Ryan now felt sick, a feeling that would stay with him til we left the battlefield. Harry said that he had a feeling we weren't alone, there was definitely someone or something here and it didn't mind us being here, as opposed to the unwelcoming spirit we encountered at Edlingham Castle. I closed my eyes and tired to use my other senses to see if I could feel anything, after a while I felt a little dizzy, I can't explain why, but it quickly passed.
We split up into two teams, Harry and I headed back to the car park and Tom and Ryan headed towards the back of the field. We spent a little time trying to pick up on anything we could. I took a lot of random photos hoping to pick up some orbs or maybe something else on the photographs.
We regrouped in the centre near the monument and spent some more time silently scouring the area for movement. After another 45 minutes or so we decided to call it a night.
On the drive home we passed a large white furry thing at the side of the road, it turned out to be a sheep that had escaped from it's field grazing, but from a distance I could have sworn it was a homeless person wearing a white woolly jumper eating grass. We all had an enjoyable night, which would have been rounded off by the sighting of something unusual to accompany all the sounds and feelings we picked up on.
We regrouped in the centre near the monument and spent some more time silently scouring the area for movement. After another 45 minutes or so we decided to call it a night.
On the drive home we passed a large white furry thing at the side of the road, it turned out to be a sheep that had escaped from it's field grazing, but from a distance I could have sworn it was a homeless person wearing a white woolly jumper eating grass. We all had an enjoyable night, which would have been rounded off by the sighting of something unusual to accompany all the sounds and feelings we picked up on.
Conclusion
We didn't see a ghost but we all sensed an atmosphere which let us know that we weren't alone. Ryan and Tom heard footsteps and Ryan had a feeling of sickness, which passed when we left. Could he have been picking up on feelings because of what happened here over 600 years ago. There seems to be something here and the journey was certainly worth making.
