The Royal Oak

September 2015

The Royal Oak, Herston, Swanage.

For a birthday treat (for my husband), I booked my husband and I into the very haunted Royal Oak, Herston near Swanage 19/09/2015.

I got the idea from when we went to Churston manor Farm for my birthday back in May and thought it would be a nice little break for us and also for us to do some investigating on the sly. I needn’t have worried about doing any investigating on the sly though as Rachael was more than happy to accommodate our spooky hobby and welcomed us there with open arm, a tour of the building from top to bottom and some fascinating personal accounts.

We spent a good few hours in the bar; chatting to some of the regulars who were also more than happy to share their experiences they had, had in the pub.

Not only did this building have a lovely bar area, it also had an amazing beer garden which Dave and I sat out in, enjoying the wonderful sunshine (while we could). Whilst we were there, we chatted some more regarding the stories that the regulars had shared and Dave mentioned that he was drawn to the window up on the second floor. He said it looked like there was movement there. We worked out that this was the room we were staying in called the poppy room. Dave also said he felt that there was something much older on this site which dated back much further than the building where the Royal Oak now stood. Rachael came out to have a chat and we shared what Dave had felt. She pretty much agreed with us but didn’t confirm as she didn’t want to spoil anything for us with regard to investigating.

After we had some tea we decided to go and check our equipment and start our investigation. Dave pretty much led on the bed while I was getting the equipment out and that is where he nearly stayed. I went off into the little room which is reputed to be the most active of the rooms on the floor and started to document pictures and film (expecting Dave to join me). After half an hour, I went back to find he was asleep!! I woke him up and he insisted that he was only resting his eyes but I don’t believe him. We both went back to the little room and already the atmosphere had changed. Where I was more than happy to be in there on my own, I was now feeling very threatened but couldn’t understand why. Nothing had happened to me, I just felt unwelcome. Dave said he felt like he had walked into a cobweb and said that he felt very heavy, so he went to sit on the bed in the corner. We took some pictures but I started to feel a bit unwell (I kept getting sharp tummy pains). I suggested we go to the other room where I made a coffee. Dave led back on the bed and started to doze again. I woke him up and said I was thirsty. He went downstairs and got some soft drinks and when he came back up again, we resumed our investigation. We went back into the room and I sat in the rocking chair in there. Dave was stood by the beds and again said that he felt very heavy and that he couldn’t go any further into the room. I was very reluctant to call out to any spirit people and so kept quiet (This is very unlike me). Dave started to call out instead but he was very quiet about it. He also said that he felt like he was going to have a nosebleed. I started to feel very uncomfortable sat in the rocking chair. I expected the chair to be pulled back any minute so I got up and stood in the doorway. Dave invited me to where he was stood but I said I couldn’t go. I felt far too threatened. (Bearing in mind only an hour ago I was quite happy to be sat in this room by myself).

We went back to our room and Dave once again fell asleep very quickly. After about an hour I woke him and suggested we carried on with our investigation. Dave said he was going downstairs for a cigarette and I said I would go with him. We went out into the garden which had taken on a very different feel also. We then went into the pool room and noticed there were some books in the corner. I noticed a book by Peter Underwood that I hadn’t read before so I took that back upstairs with me. There were a few local stories which I read out loud. Again, Dave went back to sleep. I kept trying to wake him up and he would wake momentarily and say he was awake and then accuse me of having stopped reading out loud. I said to him that he thought I had stopped because he had conked out!! He also kept complaining of feeling absolutely waked out and burning hot. I was cold however and had my fleecy on. Dave kept mentioning he was burning up but was so drowsy, he couldn’t finish his sentences. I was reading a particularly long story and in my peripheral vision I thought my juice bottle had moved which was placed on the side of the chest of drawers next to me. I started and said out loud that, that was not funny. I then realised that I would have heard the bottle drag if it had moved and then wondered if I had caught movement in the room reflected in the bottle surface? I definitely did not feel like I was alone. We had purposefully left the door to the little room open, now I wish I had shut it.

Rachael came up to see if we were still awake and said that everyone had pretty much left the bar and would we like to join them in the bar for a séance. I really wanted too but said that I was worried about Dave and didn’t want to leave him. I had tried several times to wake him up but without success. This was not like Dave at all.

During the night I kept being woken up by something. I didn’t see anything but I have never felt so threatened by nothing in my whole life. I didn’t want to sleep with my back exposed in case something tugged at my shoulder and I didn’t want to sleep facing out in case I woke to see something in my face. I was very relieved when day broke.

Dave had got up first and I found him in the bar talking to Rachael. Dave was very apologetic for crashing out like he did but apparently this is known to happen and a few people who had seen Dave had said this was going to happen! Also, feeling very hot is also known to happen. Rachael then asked me how my legs where? Come to think of it my hips and legs had been playing up all night. She just smiled when I said that. Rachael asked us before if we were mediums to which we had replied no, but we have learned to be sensitive. She said that it was a shame we didn’t live nearer as we would definitely benefit from developing our skills a bit more and that we should come and sit with their circle if we could. We also had a look at a picture that Rachael had taken of the pool room while they were renovating it and asked if we could see anything strange. I saw a face which was definitely not photo shopped and Dave saw a few other things in the picture that I hadn’t picked up on. We then went into the dining room and Rachael asked Dave if he felt anything in there. Dave said that he was drawn to one of the corners in the room and said he felt like someone was stood right behind him. Rachael confirmed this joked with us asking were we sure we weren’t mediums?

We chatted together and I said that despite the evening being a bit quiet for me (with Dave conking out), I still had managed to pick up on a few impressions as to what I felt around the building and garden. I said that there was definitely a male energy in the bar and the garden but they were not the same one. I also said that there was a definite presence in the little room but it didn’t really want to make contact, not with me anyway. I also asked if maybe there was a gateway in that room as the energy I could feel in there was always very strong. This is unusual as spiritual energy usually builds and recedes naturally.

On hindsight, it seemed that Dave was being directly affected during our investigation; however, we were not aware of that at the time. Rachael also asked me what I felt was going on with the gentleman in the garden. I said that he was not happy with changes to the building or the land. He was not lord of the manor but he was linked to the site. He was angry and wanted people off his land. With this she laughed out loud and asked was I sure I wasn’t a medium? The spirit inside I had mentioned was the one she called Lord of the manor. The one in the garden has been known to actually said Get off my land!

Rachael said we were more than welcome to look around the place some more if we didn’t have to rush off. As we didn’t, we carried on investigating around the building. This time we were allowed in the cellar and one of the rooms on the first floor. In the sitting room on the first floor, Dave was not comfortable at all. He felt we were intruding. He smelt pipe smoke and brill crème. I could only smell vanilla but then I realised I was sat next to a vanilla candle.

Just before we left for our journey, we were sat in the bar and I felt a distinct flick or prod on the back of my shoulder. I exclaimed out loud as it took me by surprise. This apparently is also known to happen a lot especially where I was sat. I took this to be my personal goodbye from the spirits that at least had decided to include me in something before we left.

Dave and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Royal Oak and though our evening didn’t turn out as expected, on hindsight we definitely did get a lot out of our time here. More than we realised at the time. The next time we return, we will be bringing the rest of our team with us as Rachael has given us the go ahead (once we have settled on a date). I truly cannot wait for us to back and say hello to the regulars both past and present at this magnificent Inn.