From drowned villages to dead bodies, our rivers, lakes and seas conceal some seriously spooky finds. But what are the most unnerving things to be found in our waters?
Ghostly Villages
With the driest summer in a generation last year, many of our reservoirs hit record lows, with some lower than half their capacity. Along with cracked earth and the odd swimfeeder, however, other finds provide an eerie reminder of past times.
Several of Britain’s larger reservoirs involved the flooding of existing villages and it’s not unusual to come across walls, fences and even the remains of houses on these venues. Some features, like old roads, walls and riverbeds, even make fish-holding ‘features’. Among the better known ‘lost villages’ are Derwent and Ashopton in the Peak District, which were both evacuated when Ladybower Reservoir was created. For several years afterwards, the spire of the Church of St John and St James still appeared above the water as a reminder.
The villages of Measand and Mardale Green in Cumbria are another example. Once thriving farming communities, these were flooded in the late 1920s to allow the construction of Haweswater Reservoir.
The year 2022 presented further unique glimpse of worlds not seen for decades. In Wales, the abandoned town of Llanwddyn was another spooky example, coming to light for the first time since the 1970s as drought bit hard this summer. With historic low levels, almost the entire town could reportedly be seen on the parched banks of Lake Vyrnwy.
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Joyriders
Following a car theft in South West England, police had a job on their hands to locate not only the thieves but the actual vehicle after both seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. Several days later, however, the truth emerged at the bottom of an angling club lake. To the horror of locals, divers located not only the lost vehicle, but two young thieves who hadn’t managed to escape when the car swerved into the water.
From phantom railway stations to cricket pitches
Of course, to find eerie bits of Britain’s past you needn’t always go for a dive or wait for record droughts. History is all around us, whether obvious or otherwise, the UK's rivers and lakes have a great ability to disguise evidence. Shropshire’s River Rea is just one example, with a ghostly railway station still just about visible. Look closer and you can still see the platform and railway line. Elsewhere, there are other remnants of the past that are equally conspicuous, such as the abandoned mines of Wales, Scotland’s ruined castles, and even the odd ghostly cricket ground in rural England.
All back to the Bronze Age
Also in evidence across England and Europe have been signs of much earlier civilisations revealed by drought. Right across the continent, evidence of early settlements and religious relics can be found. Fernworthy Reservoir, on Dartmoor, for example, revealed an ancient hut circle, while Bronze Age artefacts such as marked stones and pottery were found at Stithians Reservoir, in Cornwall.
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Criminal curiosities
Ever since they were dug, our canals and reservoirs have been favourite places for crooks to dispose of evidence. Urban settings have often revealed unsettling finds, with shotguns, drugs and even the odd cracked safe found in locations such as the Grand Union Canal and London’s River Wandle. Of course, the ultimate horror must surely be the last thing anyone wants to catch, a dead body. Sadly, this happens every year to some unfortunate angler, whether it’s a criminal act or a tragic accident that claims a life. This very summer, police launched a murder investigation in Sheffield, as a 50-year-old’s body was found in a fishing pond in South Yorkshire. Just pray that it never happens to you.
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The Hunger Games
It’s often said that if we look closely, history repeats itself – this is certainly true of weather extremes, even if climate change is making these events more frequent. For humanity today, our more advanced supply chains and technology tend to spare us the worst of droughts and floods. This wasn’t true of our ancestors, however, who might easily face starvation or homelessness after a weather disaster.
So-called ‘hunger stones’ are a chilling reminder of the misery wrought on our ancestors in extreme times. These are hand-carved relics with dates, messages and warnings from those who suffered. They are found right across Europe, and quite often turn up in large natural lakes or valleys flooded to make big reservoirs. One of the most chilling and famous examples comes from the Czech Republic, bearing the stark message: “When you see me, weep.”
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