Peak Experience

Picture of Sheldon Church  Picture of haunted Magpie Mine, Sheldon  Picture of haunted Magpie Mine, Sheldon  Picture of winding gear at Magpie Mine, Sheldon

 

On 8 January 1753 an 80-year-old widow had to be carried to the altar of Sheldon church to marry her 14-year-old groom.  She died within a month.

South of Sheldon village you’ll find haunted Magpie Mine (SK173682).  It was worked for 300 years up to 1954.  Some say it is cursed because it has suffered so many floods, fires and falls.  Perhaps the curse stems from 1833 when three men were suffocated there.  Even today the place retains an eerie atmosphere.

 

In 1946 a party of speleologists were exploring Magpie Mine.  One saw a man with a candle walking along a tunnel from which he disappeared.  Another party member’s photograph showed a second man standing apparently on 3 metres of water.  The ghost of the Old Man was thought to be trying to protect his ancient rights, or else to be helping these modern searchers find lead ore.  Miners believed the ore to be thick and pure in the main vein 46 metres below water level.

Three lead miners who suffocated in a fire here in 1833, and their ghosts roam the mine still.  Their widows blamed a group of rival Magpie Mine miners and laid a curse on that mine, which many believe has never been lifted.

In 1601 Sheldon villagers saw a duck fly into an ash tree, but nobody saw it fly out.  For the next three centuries this was known as the Duck Tree.  When it was felled and taken to an Ashford timber yard the woodworkers found the image of a full-size duck on the middle of two planks.  The timber merchant had them set into a mantelpiece at his home, Great Batch Hall in Ashford.

 

Public transport information for all locations can be found by calling Traveline on 0871 200 2233.

To plan your journey to Sheldon, which has direct bus services from Buxton and Bakewell, visit Traveline.