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Northern England

Barrock Fell, Cumbria

The Black Swan, York

The Civic Theatre, Darlington

Clifford’s Tower, York

The Coach and Horses Hotel, Chester

Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland

East Riddlesden Hall, Yorkshire

Kirkstone Pass Inn, Cumbria

Marston Moor Battlefield, Yorkshire

The National Railway Museum, York

The Octagon Theatre, Bolton

The Old Original, Oldham

Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire

The Prospect Shopping Centre, Hull

The Shakespeare Public House, Manchester

The Snickleway Inn, York

Tynemouth Priory and Castle, Tyne and Wear

Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne

Whitby Abbey, Yorkshire

Winter’s Gibbet, Northumberland

Ye Olde Black Boy, Hull

Ye Olde Man and Scythe Inn, Bolton

I am a northern lad, so how could I not love northern England? I was born in Liverpool in the north-west and that city itself abounds with stories of hauntings and ghostly sightings. I have conducted one or two investigations in Liverpool around the Rodney Street area (as documented in The Psychic Adventures of Derek Acorah) and I can guarantee that anybody who is looking to visit this city on a ghost-hunting expedition will not be disappointed.

Of course there are many other towns and cities in the north of England where a plethora of ghosts walk. Travel north following the M6 to the ancient town of Lancaster with its castle and history of the Lancashire Witches, then go to the Lake District and beyond to Carlisle. Turn right and follow Hadrian’s Wall through Northumberland. How can anybody who is looking for a paranormal experience be short of locations to investigate? But of course my heart will always belong to Liverpool and its haunted history.

Barrock Fell

Barrock Fell, in Cummersdale, to the south of Carlisle, was occupied by the Romans in the late fourth century. They built a small fort and signal station there, possibly to guard the important road to the south.

The fell is not haunted by Romans, however, but by a notorious highwayman, John Whitfield of Cotehill, who terrorized the neighbourhood in the mid-eighteenth century. Finally, in 1768, a young boy witnessed him shooting a man called William Cockburn on the road near Armithwaite and he was caught, tried and sentenced to be gibbeted on Barrock Fell. Hanging in his iron cage and starving to death, he cried out in agony for several days until a mail coachman passing by finally put him out of his misery by shooting him. Now it is said that his ghost can still be heard crying out in torment.

Barrock Fell, Cummersdale, Carlisle, Cumbria

The Black Swan

The Black Swan is one of York’s most traditional pubs. It has a medieval timber-framed exterior and a classical seventeenth-century interior. It was originally built in 1417 and for many years was the home of the Bowes family. William Bowes was Lord Mayor of York in 1417 and 1428, and Sir Martin Bowes became jeweller to Queen Elizabeth I and the Lord Mayor of London. There may have been a secret side to this eminent family, for there is evidence of a secret passage leading from the house to St Cuthbert’s church and of a secret room, which may have been used for cock fighting. The first record of the house being used as a pub was in 1763.

Today the Black Swan offers pub lunches, live folk music and two en-suite