Monday, June 24

The Strange Orbs And Mysterious Coincidences Of Tawstock

Tawstock village sign North Devon

We've just come back from a short holiday in the small atmospheric Devon village of Tawstock, where we stayed in a 15th century thatched cottage.

When we arrived it was dull and overcast but the cottage was cosy and quaint. It seems that in the late 1400s it was used as a lodging house for visitors to the gentry at what was then the imposing nearby Tawstock Court.

Broomfield Cottage Tawstock Devon

The cottage obviously had a dislike for new fangled technology. When I tried to use my mobile phone a message came up saying words to the effect that I couldn't make a call as I was in 'flight mode'. But whatever I did I couldn't overcome this - so no immediate communication seemed possible.

I wanted to phone my son to say we had arrived safely so I tried again later. This time my phone battery was flat - despite the fact that I had fully charged it before leaving home that morning - strange!

Broomfield Cottage, Twastock, Devon

We looked round the cottage. The upstairs landing to the two bedrooms (above) was low with sloping beams and a creaky floor. One of the bedrooms had been furnished for children and I spotted a PG Tips monkey on a shelf. I thought this strange as I had previously written a blog about the monkey on this blog called The Monkey Proves That We See What We Need To See. But it got stranger!

PG Tips monkey

On the windowsill in the living room was a folder of loose photos. I took a look and the top picture was of Tintagel Post Office - which I had also written a post about just before I went away on this holiday.

And amazingly the second photo was of the Eden Project, which is near to where I live and, again, I've written several posts about this.

Then I noticed that the cottage owner's phone number ended in 0076 (meaningful numbers in my life).

All very odd, so we decided to go for a walk around the village to clear our heads. It was, by now, about 4.30pm.

Photos of Cornwall

We walked towards the church, which is in a beautiful setting and, as the door was slightly open, we went inside. We didn't see or hear anyone so we started to look round.

Tawstock Church

Lots of very old stuff to look at, going back to the 1500s, and also a reference to the Knights Templar.


We got quite engrossed and then a voice shouted out to us. It was a friendly lady with a big, excited black labrador. We asked her if she was going to lock the church. She said she was, but she would give us the keys if we wanted and could drop them off to her later.

Again this appeared strange as she didn't know us - we must have looked honest or something. We didn't take up her offer of the church keys, it didn't feel right, so we walked on.

The next photo I took was of the original gatehouse to Tawstock Court (below), which I mentioned earlier.

Tawstock Court Gatehouse, Twastock Devon

The Tawstock Court of the late 1400s is no longer there - all that remains is this gatehouse. It has been replaced by St Michael's School (Michael being my first name, of course).

St Michael's School Tawstock

As it was getting dark we made our way back to Broomfield Cottage.

The next day I was in the front garden of the cottage - which just happens to be on the opposite side of the road - and took a quick photo. I noticed later that there was a blue orb on the thatch in the picture - and have just realised there is also a blue orb on the very first photo of this post.

Note: the photos haven't been altered - they are exactly the same as when they were downloaded from the camera - other than the bottom thatch pic was cropped to make the orb more visible. Click on any photo to make them bigger,

Broomfield Cottage Tawstock devon

All in all a mysterious start to our holiday but ...

Blue orb in thatched roof

... more to follow tomorrow, including The Red Sky And The Invasion Of The Scarecrows ...

Scarcrow at Tawstock

The village of Tawstock was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 - see details on Open Domesday. In 1086 there were 72 villagers, 18 slaves and 7 other population.

Other Devon Posts:
The Photo Of The Ghost Of Broomfield Cottage Tawstock
The Red Sky And The Invasion Of The Scarecrows

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12 comments:

  1. Interesting photos,but the blue orb in each of the two photos seems to be in exactly same spot in the frame when I roughly measured them out,so it may just be a fault in the lens,
    but who knows ?

    I just hope that substance in the scarecrow's pocket was legal.
    He just seems a little suspicious,and a little too well dressed for a scarecrow,in my opinion.
    Although he may have made a bit of money by just being outstanding in his field of work,also.-)

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    1. Actually,as I was just about to leave your blog,I noticed that you have two more orbs in your top of the stairs photo (third photo)and they are in different spots to the other two photos,so the mystery deepens,I guess.

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    2. Interesting what you say about the position of the two blue orbs, hadn't noticed this - or the other 'orb' on the third photo.

      Just going through my other photos there's another pic of the inside of the cottage with several grey 'orbs' - oh, and there's a photo of a 'ghost' for Wednesday's post! The mystery does deepen.

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  2. You find some interesting places to visit, my breaks away never seem like that. Love the cottage with those beams. I noticed on the church sign that the bottom date is 1767.

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    1. Thanks, I noticed that date when I took the photo. North Devon has some great scenery and beaches - unfortunately the weather wasn't quite good enough for relaxing on the sand.

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  3. I too noticed the blue orb "bleeding" through the stone wall, top of the landing... might be checking out the new visitors (you and spouse in the house!)
    My first thought was "all things electrical" and those pesky electromagnetic thingys that occur. In the visual world, blue is a deterrent... it pushes people away, whereas the colour red draws the eye in.
    Like I asked in a previous post: How do you do this???

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    1. The answer to your question: No idea how, just happens, no conscious effort involved!

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  4. nice to see you back and looks like you had a good time the area looks great

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    1. Thanks Tom, trust you are well.

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  5. I noticed those other two orbs, too. I think the ghosties were having a good chuckle over your phone not working! This place looks just perfect for a getaway. We're glad you're back - and with photos and synchros!

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    1. Not 100% sure about the blue orbs but there's a 'ghost' (perhaps) on Wednesday's post plus more orbs.

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  6. Eldever18:57

    It's strange how I've come across this site. I'm a taxi driver in North Devon and have driven hundreds of miles around the area over the years and been to most villages. I don't not believe in ghosts but want to see some evidence in order to be convinced.
    Anyway, I am compelled to write as I had a fare to Tawstock late last saturday night and shuddered quietly when the customer said his destination. I have always found Tawstock to be a very odd place and there's something that really gives me the creeps about it. I always get this feeling when I go there and a few years ago I even decided to go for a walk around there (with canine and human company!)to see if I could determine what feels so odd. We went into the church and after starting to look around and read the tablets etc I felt a strong compulsion to leave. I visit many churches and feel very at home in them normally. The church gave me the feeling that if buried there I would forever be 'walking in death's dark vale'(The Lord is my Shepherd)and never reaching a place of rest. For days afterwards I couldn't shake off a strange depressed feeling.
    I found this site purely by chance looking at American news (how is it linked to here?)and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the word Tawstock. Rather unnervingly I swear I knew EXACTLY which house the above posters were referring to before I saw the picture and the address. It gave me quite a shock when I saw it was this cottage. Years ago I used to pick up an old couple who lived there but that doesn't shed any light on this, I would remember if they told me anything unusual because unexplained events are always of interest to me.

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