My stay in the ‘brilliantly bizarre’ English witchcraft town with the UK’s smallest pub
I’LL admit it. I’m a scaredy cat. So it was rather out of character for me to be tip-toeing through a churchyard in the pitch black, led by a stone-faced monk and the Witchfinder general.
I was on a Ghostly and Macabre tour in the quiet Suffolk town of Bury St Edmunds.
Costumed guides John and Mike had been recalling gruelling stories of local murders and the paranormal before we made our way, squelching through soggy maple leaves, to the charnel house.
“This is usually when the owls join us” said Mike. Just then, an owl hooted back, right on-cue.
The house was built to store bones when graveyards became full. And what happened when the crypt piled up? Well, that’s where ‘bonfire’ comes from (bone-fire in old English).
“Usually, no one is allowed in here” whispered Mike. “But on tours with us, you can come in.” I gulp.
Bats circle as John creaked open an iron gate.
I was starting to become convinced these animals were paid actors.
I’ll keep it secret what I saw inside. Just know that I darted back to my hotel room in a flash afterwards.
Luckily, the ivy-clad Angel Hotel, where Charles Dickens penned The Pickwick Papers, is nothing like the eerie building I’d been exploring.
My room had a free-standing copper bathtub and plump bed, while downstairs, the kitchen was cooking up hearty dishes such as braised-beef ‘Pickwick Pie’.
It was also perfectly positioned for exploring the rest of this quaint town and its quirky thrills.
That includes the 12th-century Moyse’s Hall Museum, which is set to open a new gallery named Crime And Superstition on Halloween this year.
The gallery explores Bury’s deep-rooted ties with witchcraft, including everything from 17th century voodoo poppets to hand-made wands.
The centrepiece is A Tryal Of Witches, the best-documented English witch trial, detailing a 1662 case in which two Suffolk women were found guilty of bewitching children.
It even influenced the infamous Salem witch trials in the States.
Slightly less spooky is the 1,000 year-old abbey ruins and gardens.
Visitors enter via a huge, 14th century Abbey Gate under an imposing portcullis into the remains of what was once one of Britain’s most powerful monasteries.
Opposite here, on Abbeygate Street, you will find a truly thriving high street with boutiques including chocolatiers, tailors and antique shops.
I was visiting on a Saturday, when the local market was in full swing and the independent cafes and restaurants were packed, including Italian spot PrimaVista, where the fresh tomato spaghetti easily rivalled dishes I’ve had in Italy.
Make sure to swing by The Nutshell, which claims to be the UK’s smallest pub, measuring just 15ft x 7ft.
It’s delightfully quirky, with a 400-year-old mummified cat displayed above the bar along with a mummified rat.
“It’s to tease the cat”, flat-capped local Chris smirked.
Bury locals are fiercely proud of their brilliantly bizarre town, and after my time here I admit, I’m under its spell, too.