Part 5: Haunted Devon, UK: Viking Ghosts

My latest book is called "Ghosts of England on a Medium's Vacation" (by Rob Gutro) and conveys

all of the ghosts I met as I traveled throughout England. There are a LOT more ghosts in England that I  did not (yet) meet, and here is the fifth of several postings from Devonlive in Devon, U.K about some of them.. - Rob   

How Viking ghosts from 'the first Battle of Britain' still haunt Bloody Corner

Photo: Bloody Corner in Appledore where 1,000 died in a Viking battle

Visitors to North Devon beaches claim on clear nights they can hear battle noises and shadows of fighting men, as the “bloody corner” battle haunts Appledore. Viking raids were a great threat to Devon villages during the reign of Alfred the Great.
Ancient records of Northam exist from around the 10th and 11th Century and they retell the story of a battle with “Hubba the Dane” at Bloody Corner in the late 9th Century.
Tradition says he landed at what is now Boathyde (Hyde meaning a Cove) with a fleet of more than ships and marched to attack the “Hill Fort” at Kenwith.
The legend is that they were defeated by Odun, Earl of Devon. Hubba and 1000 of his men were said to have been killed. The men were buried at Bonehill (Bunhill was the old name for a burial ground) and Hubba was buried in a Cairn, in the area now known as Hubbastone. There is a stone tablet at Bloody Corner in Northam (above), erected by Charles Chappell, which reads:

“Stop Stranger Stop,

Near this spot lies buried

King Hubba the Dane,

who was slayed in a bloody retreat,

by King Alfred the Great”

But in 2008 the best selling author of the Horrible Histories books claimed to have discovered the long-lost site of the ancient 'Battle of Cynwit' - a bloody clash which saved England from the Vikings.

Nick Arnold, author of the children's book series, says he has solved a 1,200 year mystery and located the site of one the most important conflicts in Britain.

Photo: This is where Horrible Histories author Nick Arnold thinks the battlefield near Appledore really was.

The famous battle in 878 saw the rampaging Viking armies overruning the country except for Devon and Cornwall. England's ruler, King Alfred the Great, had gone into hiding and the last of the Saxon soldiers took refuge in a fortress named Cynwit or Cynuit (corr).
The stronghold was surrounded and besieged by the 1,200 strong Viking force - but according to historical accounts the English made a final charge. In a last ditch act of defiance the remaining English stormed from the fortress and overcame their invaders - banishing them from the country forever.

The clash has been dubbed the 'first battle of Britain' but the site of the fortress became lost and all attempts to definitively identify it have failed. For 300 years historians have speculated its location.
But Nick claims they were looking in the wrong place and says he has located the remains of the fort and the battlefield at Castle Hill near Beaford.

SOURCE: Devon Live: https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/viking-ghosts-still-haunt-bloody-2286420