Sandwood Bay - described as a 'Shipwreck Cemetery' due to the large number of ships destroyed on its rocks - is one of the UK's most isolated spots, which can only be reached after a four mile walk along a footpath. Perhaps the most hair-raising tale is that of two crofters who had been collecting firewood and who dropped their load and high-tailed it after an ethereal sea dog materialised next to them and told them in no uncertain terms to clear off. The ruined Sandwood Cottage near the beach is also a beacon for ghosts. When it was still habitable, it was used as a bothy by men working in the area, who were treated to such sights as spectral faces peering through the window, disembodied footsteps and inexplicable feelings of dread. A splinter of wood from the cottage's broken bannister was also blamed for poltergeist phenomenon at a house in Edinburgh. Other things sighted round Sandwood Bay include a near seven feet tall ghost standing by the cottage, a mermaid and ghostly hoof-beats.
Scottish based writer with a slight obsession with the stranger side of life, and massive Doctor Who fan. I also write for The Spooky Isles (http://www.spookyisles.com/), The Modern Scotsman (http://modernscotsman.com/), and have my own blog of terrifying ghost stories from around the world , Ghostly Aspects (http://www.ghostlyaspects.blogspot.co.uk/).
