The light poured out of the lamps, spilling into the fog of night
Mingling with the swirling ghosts of the Abbey
Illuminating the path of the Grey Lady.
Centuries after burning in her fathers anger
The lamplight guided her on misty nights
Back to the long cold bed of her lover.
The golden light glistened like tears
Pouring eternally from the heart
Of the monk who led her astray.
Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian. November 2013
Stories from and about the Tree of Life including a systematic look at colour in the Four Worlds of the Qabalistic Tree, its history and meditational use.
We Accept Pets is a directory of pet friendly accommodation and pet businesses all over the UK & Ireland
General musings on archaeology, landscape and the past
Words That Are Heartfelt
Tarot for Evolution
Stories From Norfolk and Beyond - Be They Past, Present, Fact, Fiction, Mythological, Legend or Folklore.
reflection + romance + release
Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
Imaginary Forests, Real Trees
The evolution of an old farmhouse, an American woman, an Englishman and their dogs.
Finding joy in the little moments of life
A daily selection of the best content published on WordPress, collected for you by humans who love to read.
Advice and Tips on How to Garden
Organic Herbs, Herbals, Sustainable Gardening
Hazy and crazy days of Gwynn's life
Mostly photographs with some words by this arty scientist...
Transform your life with Astrology
A Scrapbook of Myth, Magic and Memories
Jane's Lens
A Poet's Place | Wolff Poetry Literary Magazine is Publishing Poetry Submitted by Published & Emerging Writers,
The Art of Holistic Tarot Therapy
Adventures in Watercolor Painting and Sketching, Watercolour Magazine, with Charlie O'Shields
Photoblog of Joshi Daniel
A Scottish travel blog showcasing the best of Scotland
the literary asylum
Where derision meets concision.
Self beyond the Personality
Celebrating Nature and Magic for Kids of all Ages
breathofgreenair 
Beautiful ghostly lights, Seonaid. I can almost imagine the Grey Lady furtively hurrying through the shadows. 🙂
I know, you can almost a ghostly shadow if you look long enough 🙂
I’m sure I have heard of the Grey Lady – but didn’t know the site or legend. That makes it vivid.
That’s great to hear, that my post brought it alive in your mind. I think that there might be more Grey Lady Ghosts, but I grew up with this one, and lots of local tales about late night encounters with her. She seems to haunt this stretch of the Esk, and not just the Abbey grounds 🙂
Together with the ghostly light capture you’ve woven a wonderful interpretation of the ancient sad lost love story Seonaid
Thanks for the lovely compliment. It’s a very atmospheric place, especially as the light falls.
I just had to do a little reading about the Grey Lady and Newbattle Abbey. Sad story … but your photos are beautiful. That light is wonderfully captured.
So happy to hear you liked the photos… And great that you know a little more about my neighbourhood 🙂
It’s such an old site, with so many stories……I might post more on the ghostly theme 🙂
I’ve just googled and read the story Seonaid, thanks I would never have known about this place without you!
My pleasure Gilly, if I had thought people would be interested I would have put some google links into the post….I’ll remember for the future.
It’s a really amazing, but relatively unknown site….so much history, and so many ghosts 🙂
I’m wondering if this is fiction or whether you’ve put into poetic form the legend of this mysterious place? D
David, it’s a local ghost story which I’ve grown up with….put into my poetic phrase 🙂
Newbattle Abbey is a very ancient monastic site, and the Grey Lady is one of the ghosts reputed to haunt the building and it’s grounds. It’s 5 minutes from our house, and a regular dog walk for us….but I don’t like walking there on my own as the light fades. It has a powerful atmosphere.
There is something really sad about that photo. Maybe as the first commenter said its because of Mandela’s passing or maybe it’s because of the suggestion of deep sorrow in your poem – either way your image has a strange power.
I loved the link to Mandela, and the poem is such a sad ghost story. She was apparently beautiful and kind natured, but her father, Lord of a house nearby in Gilmerton, couldn’t bear her love for the grey friar. He burned them alive in a cottage where they were meeting secretly, along with her maid, and a fellow friar from the Abbey. Hard to imagine a father burning his daughter……
What lovely light!
It’s quite dramatic I think, but a very welcome sight after being in the gathering darkness of the unlit woods 🙂
Beautiful. Both the photos and poem……
Thank you, the lights were really eye catching, I think because of the fog…..and the poem is based on the local ghost story for the Abbey.
I really like your use of light and shadows in your photo, very creative.
Thanks so much Charlie, we were just finishing up a dog walk we do regularly, but the light had dropped earlier than we thought it would, so we did the last stretch in gathering darkness and rising fog. It was so evocative to see the lights reaching out towards us like this. I had to stop for some shots….while my husband and the dogs waited patiently in the car!!
I have some catching up to do here Seonaid. I have been very busy. This is just a quick stop to tell you that these photos in my reader really made me stop and look 🙂 Gorgeous takes!
Glad they caught your eye Paula 🙂
As I look at this light with its long light cast, my heart is heavy hearing about Nelson Mandela’s passing. He has been one of the largest lights I can think of in my lifetime…
What a beautiful link with my photos, and I heard the sad news first from you with this comment.
He was indeed a bright light who will continue to cast a long shadow through time.