We have been busy over the summer months building a camper van conversion, which will allow us to literally go anywhere in the UK and have facilities (cooking, wash/shower/loo) to be able to stay there indefinitely, water providing, which will be a fantastic thing to be able to do when you are trying to research various phenomena.
So at the back end of October, we decided that seeing as the conversion was at the stage where we could use the van, we might as well go out on a rekky and have a look at Bempton and also Helmsley. Both locations have had their fare share of weird and strange things going on over the years, so we packed up the van and set off.
We were only going for 3 or 4 days and in that time called in at our friends static caravan right on the doorstep of Bempton Cliffs.
After visiting our friends on the Friday night(the first night) it was pretty obvious it was definitely not a good night for investigating anything. The rain was literally coming down sidewards with high winds as we made our way to the bird sanctuary, a location where many strange lights have been observed.
We arrived at Bempton bird sanctuary and we were the only people there. The place was in total darkness, the time was about 9pm.
We stepped outside to get a feel for the place. It has a bit of an uneasy feel to it, but that could be because I was only too aware of what had been witnessed in that very area.
We decided that the weather was far too bad to try to do anything, so we had a brew and decided to just get our heads down.
The wind was rocking the van and buffeting us about, it was like being on the high seas!
My OH was snoring his head off, but I was hyper aware for about 2 hours, listening for noises etc, it's a bit disconcerting when you are well away from civilisation at night, on your own, and at one point it did sound like someone tried the door handle.....but I could not be totally sure, due to the really bad gales and rain...Eventually, I fell asleep.
We just wanted to get a feel for the places and get to know the lay of the land, mainly. Before we left the area, we had a run to Danes Dyke and one or two other local spots just to see what is what for future reference.
We were only going for 3 or 4 days and in that time called in at our friends static caravan right on the doorstep of Bempton Cliffs.
After visiting our friends on the Friday night(the first night) it was pretty obvious it was definitely not a good night for investigating anything. The rain was literally coming down sidewards with high winds as we made our way to the bird sanctuary, a location where many strange lights have been observed.
We arrived at Bempton bird sanctuary and we were the only people there. The place was in total darkness, the time was about 9pm.
We stepped outside to get a feel for the place. It has a bit of an uneasy feel to it, but that could be because I was only too aware of what had been witnessed in that very area.
We decided that the weather was far too bad to try to do anything, so we had a brew and decided to just get our heads down.
The wind was rocking the van and buffeting us about, it was like being on the high seas!
My OH was snoring his head off, but I was hyper aware for about 2 hours, listening for noises etc, it's a bit disconcerting when you are well away from civilisation at night, on your own, and at one point it did sound like someone tried the door handle.....but I could not be totally sure, due to the really bad gales and rain...Eventually, I fell asleep.
We just wanted to get a feel for the places and get to know the lay of the land, mainly. Before we left the area, we had a run to Danes Dyke and one or two other local spots just to see what is what for future reference.
So the next location, after about an hour or so travelling, was Helmsley. We thought that we would spend a night up to the north of the town on Rievaulx Moor. The parking spot for the night was right at the side of a large batch of woodland that fell away to a massive expanse of moorland.
It had been so cold it had snowed. We was right up a dead end road, about 4 miles north of Helmsley and about 1 mile away - west - of an incident a few years earlier, when a bloke, off season, stayed in a car park at the other side of the woodland we were now parked up in.
He had decided to stay overnight in his camper van, and that was a decision he would come to regret. Later that night he decided to light a small fire and had a very close encounter with what he describes as a ''werewolf'' stood on two legs, walking like a man. (You can read the full story here) ukwildman.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-hemsley-wolfman-2012.html
So we had our evening meal and had a stand outside. By now it was pitch black. I had started to feel a bit uneasy and I went back into the van for a cup of tea. My OH got back in the van several minutes later and I told him that it didn't feel right and I wanted to go down into town, to spend the night, they have free parking for camper vans and motor homes, so we headed down and parked up.
My OH then decided to tell me that after I had gone back in the van back up in the forest, he had heard dogs howling in the distance. Whether they were farm dogs or what, we shall not know for sure, but we will definitely be back for a better look at some point in 2019.
It had been so cold it had snowed. We was right up a dead end road, about 4 miles north of Helmsley and about 1 mile away - west - of an incident a few years earlier, when a bloke, off season, stayed in a car park at the other side of the woodland we were now parked up in.
He had decided to stay overnight in his camper van, and that was a decision he would come to regret. Later that night he decided to light a small fire and had a very close encounter with what he describes as a ''werewolf'' stood on two legs, walking like a man. (You can read the full story here) ukwildman.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-hemsley-wolfman-2012.html
So we had our evening meal and had a stand outside. By now it was pitch black. I had started to feel a bit uneasy and I went back into the van for a cup of tea. My OH got back in the van several minutes later and I told him that it didn't feel right and I wanted to go down into town, to spend the night, they have free parking for camper vans and motor homes, so we headed down and parked up.
My OH then decided to tell me that after I had gone back in the van back up in the forest, he had heard dogs howling in the distance. Whether they were farm dogs or what, we shall not know for sure, but we will definitely be back for a better look at some point in 2019.