On Tuesday 27th December 2012, Loretta, Matt and I met up with Jacky and Dave for a Christmas ghost walk to Conkwell Wood, near Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire.
We drove to the woods, then left our cars and walked into the lovely woodland. I love being in woodlands at any time but I especially enjoy being in the woods at night.
The woods felt very peaceful and we chatted happily, as the atmosphere was light and comfortable. There did not seem to be any spiritual presences as we passed through.
As we walked deeper into the woods, it became apparent Conkwell Wood was clearly used by our ancestors. Research reveals that there was once a large stone circle but unfortunately this is no longer standing. However, there is evidence of standing stones spread about, lying on their sides.
As we ventured further, Jacky and Dave took us to the remains of a Cairn. The term Cairn is generally perceived as a man-made pile of stones. Cairns vary in size from small stone markers to complex accomplishments of megalithic engineering. It is thought that the purpose of Cairns were for ceremonial, astronomical, hunting or defensive purposes. It seems as if the Cairn set deep within Conkwell Wood was intended for a ceremonial role.
We all gathered inside the Cairn, I realised that we were all quiet. As I took stock of the situation, everyone seemed to be in their own world. The atmosphere was peaceful and serene. I sat on a rock and I actually felt that I had travelled back in time and although I still viewed the Cairn as a ruin and not as it once would have been, I began to feel ’others’ there with us. I was not aware of ‘anyone’ moving about but just standing perfectly still around us, with us in the middle. I sensed as if these presences were like statues and I did not feel as if they were particularly interested in our attendance at this ancient site.
After a considerable time, I sensed a female presence drawing extremely close to me. Although I was sitting on a stone, I felt as if I was sitting on a throne of some sort, not a throne in the palatial sense but a throne made of material from the earth nearby. It was not a visual thing at all and my image did not change from the present. It seemed as if the female presence was someone of substance among her people. I felt as if she was a wise-woman although she appeared to be relatively young. I closed my eyes and allowed her presence to envelop me. It was a wonderful feeling. We did not communicate in words. Verbal communication would likely be impossible as we would not understand each others language.
Eventually, we all started to talk. Jacky was standing a little way from where I was sitting and she said that she could see a shadowy figure darting from tree to tree. Dave also saw it. We all felt extremely calm.
We decided that we would carry on walking and head back to the car. Loretta and I were trailing behind at the back. As we walked past a tree on the right, we heard a really loud knock on the trunk, level with our heads, We looked at each other in surprise at exactly the same time. We continued walking and nothing else of strange nature occurred.
Thank you Jacky and Dave for taking us on a Christmas walk to Conkwell Wood.
Written by: Maria Williams
