There’s something winter does to old buildings. It doesn’t animate them so much as reveal them. The cold sharpens edges. Silence behaves differently. History feels closer to the surface, like bone beneath thinning skin. Last weekend, during an off-roading adventure in the Lake District, I stayed in two pubs that have been standing for centuries, … Continue reading The Queen’s Head & The Mortal Man…
January’s full moon rises with its teeth bared tonight. It’s called the Wolf Moon. Once upon a time when wolves prowled the woodlands of the UK, their howls threaded through frozen air during the deep winter months. Not as omens of evil, but as signals of endurance, hunger, survival and community. The Wolf Moon comes … Continue reading The Wolf Moon…
Yes, that’s right. My husband and I just got back from camping in Northumberland. This fact alone raised eyebrows. Who chooses to camp in the dead hinge of winter, when the year is barely holding itself together and the ground feels inhospitable by design? As it turns out, plenty of people do. And why not? What … Continue reading Christmas Camping…
Christmas Eve is a night of two worlds. One is all laughter and twinkling lights, families gathering in warm kitchens, their gift-wrapped parcels waiting beneath decorated trees. The other is older and quieter, and as dark as the longest night. Once upon a time, this was the night for ghost stories. Gentle ones, that is. … Continue reading Midwinter Ghosts…
Are you ready for the longest night of the year? For centuries, this day has been acknowledged and celebrated. Fires and candles were lit, people gathered together, and stories were told low and close. Not in a bid to banish the dark, but to sit with it. To acknowledge that darkness is not the enemy … Continue reading Winter Solstice…
Whatever you believe in, you can’t deny there’s a certain magic to December. Celebrating the winter solstice and the return of the sun feels fundamental, almost instinctive. We gather, look toward the light, and remind ourselves that warmth and renewal will come again. It’s hope in its oldest form. Age-old traditions passed down through generations mean we … Continue reading Yuletide Cheers…
It’s December already. The nights are wicked long, the air has bitey teeth and the countdown to Christmas has begun. But beneath all the noise and glitter, the veil is thinning. This is the season of quiet ghost stories. Forget New Year’s resolutions. They never stick (and are rarely inspiring). However, what I’m going to commit to is … Continue reading The Ghosts of Winter…
Yesterday, on the penultimate day before Kielder Forest Drive closes for the winter season, I did what any self-respecting lover of eerie landscapes and seasonal hauntings would do and went straight into the heart of it. It was the kind of trip that felt half like an adventure and half like an omen. The sky … Continue reading The Witch Holes of Kielder…
R. H. DIXON 