The Land of the Rush. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
No its not the rush that you get from a drugs fix, but a Demonic wind that is said to blow in these parts. Below the Roaches is a silent valley where once stood a Cistercian Abbey, but now only a few ruins remain and a cave where a hermit used to live, through this site a strong Ley-line can be found. Slightly to the North of this place is a mysterious wood called Hillswood which is said to contain a healing tree which I have not been able to locate yet. The area above where the abbey once stood and which is towered over by the rocky escarpment known as the Roaches is known as the Land of the Rush, many people have experienced the phenomena known as the Rush, it is an invisible force that is felt and heard as it passes, and is an unforgetable experience that has been known to knock a person off their feet as it passes.
It is said to be a re-enactment of numerous demons hurrying to claim the soul of a Nobleman. The Noblemans name was Earl Randle, and he was the ruler of the Earldom of Chester, and it was he who founded the Cistercian Abbey which was known as Dieulacres. According to legend the Earl was a man of many pious deeds that are said to have saved his soul after death, it is said that as the Earl lay dying on his death bed a man from Wallingford saw numerous demons rushing, so he was told, to the Earls death bed to accuse him of his sins, but as the demons approached Swythamley Hall where the Earl lay, the Mastiff dogs which the Abbot used for hunting deer in the nearby forest barked inccesantly. This is what saved the Earl from hell, the noise from the barking hunting dogs.
It is said that the Earls body was buried at Dieulacres, and his heart was buried at Swythamley Hall, Hillswood lies directly between Swythamley and Dieulacres, and not to long ago a person who was out walking one cold winters morning was skirting Hillswood when he swears he heard the Mastiff hunting dogs barking to protect their master from the approaching demons!
The land below the Roaches known as the Rush. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
