We didn’t see any ghosts when my fellow ramblers and I stopped off for a break at Holywell during our recent walk – 18.7 miles I am proud to say as it has been a very long time since I clocked up this kind of mileage on foot – along the picturesque Ouse Valley Way.

I had heard this tragic tale before when I had lunch at the village pub and was going to tell everyone about, but a short, sharp shower ensued as soon as I flung my rucksack off my back and made myself comfortable on the grass stretching out by the river, once an important ferry for local people. Before I knew it, everyone was on their feet and off, waterproofs on and well zipped up, and as I rushed to catch up with them, the tale was soon forgotten.

It saddened me when I first heard it, but I can assure you we saw no ghosts during our fleeting stop. Have you ever seen the lingering ghost of Holywell?

This is the tale as recounted on Wikipedia:

Legend has it that a young girl committed suicide near the church in the time of Edward the Confessor. The story runs that she committed the act having been jilted in love by the local woodcutter, and was thus buried on the banks of the Ouse at the ferry crossing point in AD 1050. It is claimed the Old Ferry Boat Inn public house was built on top of her grave. A stone slab can be found within the pub, set into the floor on the south west side of the pub.

A seance was conducted in the 1950s, during which the participants claim to have contacted the spirit of the young girl. During questioning, she apparently identified herself as Juliet Tewsley and that the local woodcutter was named Thomas Zoul. However, no Norman records have been found to support this claim. During a second seance the following year, the date moves forward to the 15th Century.

On the anniversary of her death, which coincidentally is St Patrick’s Day (17 March, according to tradition) her ghost appears as a spectral figure slowly moving towards the river bank. Occasionally the apparition can been witnessed within the Ferry Boat Inn, but this may relate to the themed evening hosted inside, and the alcoholic drink promotions of the night. The gravestone of the above mentioned Juliet is preserved within the pub, but to walk on it is to invite serious ill-luck and drinks must be bought for all and sundry within should a visitor do so. A number of paranormal groups investigate the Inn on the 17 March but evidence is generally inconclusive.

We loved visiting the church too and its famous well, and the beautiful tranquil garden nearby. You can follow the path we took from St Ives to Earith and back from my EveryTrail track. I highly recommend this lovely walk.

Great Ouse river walk

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