9 of the UK's most bewitching locations, perfect for Halloween

With All Hallows’ Eve creeping up on us, we explore some of the UK’s most spellbinding settings...

Beyond the entrance of Fingal’s Cave, hexagonal columns of basalt jut out of the swirling surf. Located on the wild Isle of Staffa in the Hebrides, this otherworldly cavern was formed millions of years ago when a volcanic eruption sent lava spilling out into the sea. Known to the Celts as Uamh-Binn, or ‘Cave of Melody’, the grotto is famed for its natural acoustics – crashing waves reverberating around the walls like a coastal cathedral. A source of inspiration for everyone from composer Felix Mendelssohn to the members of Pink Floyd, this natural wonder also appeared in Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the World.

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In the autumn of 1665, the bubonic plague began to creep beyond the urban sprawl of London, reaching the remote recesses of the Peak District. In Eyam, Derbyshire, local tailor Alexander Hadfield unwittingly took in a bolt of contaminated cloth and within days the Black Death had taken hold. But rather than let the sickness spread to neighbouring parishes, the residents chose to self-isolate in an enduring example of selfless community spirit. Recognising the need to stay apart, Eyam’s parishioners also conducted socially distanced church services, worshipping out in the elements. Visit today and, alongside wild limestone landscapes, you’ll see a number of signs from that time – including ‘plague stones’ used to mark the village boundary.

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High above Dartmoor’s West Dart River, gnarled and knotted branches reach out of the mist. Wistman’s Wood might look like a landscape imagined by Tolkien, but the only dwarves in these parts are the stunted oaks that crouch above the forest floor. Unchanged for centuries, this Site of Special Scientific Interest is home to hundreds of species of lichen, a large population of adders and 46 types of liverwort and moss – some of which blanket the boulders that lie underfoot. A place of myth and mystery, local legend states that, come nightfall, hellhounds bound out from among the trees, seeking the souls of those that dare enter their domain.

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In the shadow of the Black Cuillin Mountains, Loch Coruisk mirrors an evershifting Scottish sky. Although only accessible by boat or on foot, these deep, dark waters have attracted many an artistic luminary over the years, including Lord Tennyson, Sir Walter Scott and JMW Turner (who almost met an untimely end while clinging to a crag to paint the view). Coire Uisg in Gaelic – meaning ‘cauldron of waters’ – the lake is the alleged abode of a shape-shifting kelpie: a folklore figure able to assume both horse and human form.

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In the 18th century, guests to Gracehill House would arrive awestruck, having approached the estate via a boulevard of beautiful beeches. Planted nearly 250 years ago by Northern Irish aristocrat James Stuart, the trees have gradually arched over the path, their uppermost branches knitting together to form an arboreal tunnel only the strongest sunbeam can breach. An impressive, if not imposing, natural landscape leads up to the house, which viewers of Game of Thrones might recognise as the onscreen doppelganger for The Kingsroad.

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Built by Benedictine monks in 1132, Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire grew from a small stone church to one of the most magnificent monasteries in the land. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, these riverside remains include Romanesque cloisters and the Chapel of Nine Alters – where a Green Man gargoyle glares at all who enter. To the west of the ruins, a lengthy cellarium features vast vaulted ceilings and passageways that stretch into the shadows. Under cover of darkness, bats (eight species are resident here) wing their way through the windows to flit about in search of food.

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Pluckley in Kent might be Instagram-perfect, but behind its apple orchards and quaint cottages lie stories of spooks and spectres dating back centuries. This is reputedly Britain’s most haunted village (with a hair-raising ratio of one ghost to every 89 residents) and alleged apparitions include the Watercress Woman, who wanders near Pinnock Bridge, and the Red Lady, said to skulk between the mottled tombstones of St Nicholas’s Church. Other tales tell of a phantom horse and carriage cantering up Maltman’s Hill. While some are lured by Pluckley’s reputation for the paranormal, less superstitious folk come to see the Larkins’ oast house as featured in the TV series The Darling Buds of May.

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Two years ago, during especially inclement weather, the sands of Mount’s Bay shifted to reveal the remnants of one of the richest ships ever to have sailed the seven seas. In the winter of 1684, merchant vessel The President made the long journey back from India, her hull heaving with textiles, spices, diamonds and pearls. Having survived plundering pirates and periods of starvation, the ship and its crew had only a few nautical miles to go when a storm rolled in, sinking them in the turbulent waters just off Porthleven. Now a popular spot for underwater exploration, divers have discovered an anchor and cannons (but sadly no treasure) hidden within the wreck.

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More than 600 years since it was built, Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire retains much of its splendour and solemnity. With soaring stone chimneypieces and crenelated parapets, this medieval moated manor was home to the noble Ferrers for more than half a century. It saw them through some troubled times, too. Refusing to relinquish their Catholicism following the Reformation, the family provided dozens of Jesuit priests with protection, hiding them in secret rooms. Never was this more important than during a raid in 1591, when the ‘priest holes’ concealed the clergy from the authorities and saved them from the executioner’s tools of torture.

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