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It was about thirty seconds after arriving in Avebury that I spotted the first person wandering between the stones with a crystal pendulum, searching for a place to meditate. I would like to write that the dozens of sheep that surrounded the girl looked at her quizzically, but without so much of a bleat, they walked straight past.

Avebury is an enigmatic village; a World Heritage Site and one of the largest prehistoric stone circles in Europe (an estimated 5000 years old). The outer circle originally comprised of 98 standing stones, though currently only 27 remain (and many of those were re-erected during the 1930s). Some of the missing stones remain buried, and the others were broken up by villagers to be used for building material during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Much of the village is contained within the stone circle, including The Lodge (currently a B&B) and the Red Lion, the village pub.

It comes of no great surprise to find many ghost stories and other paranormal accounts in the village (let's be honest, if there were none, I wouldn't be there!).

Avebury Manor has claimed many manifestations over the years. A phantom monk was observed in the library, while a more romantic spirit scattered rose petals across the floor of the Crimson Room. A Cavalier is purported to haunt the manor, while a white lady drifts around the grounds of the building, occasionally straying further afield to dart around the stones. It may have been this entity that a government worker encountered in the mid twentieth century. While walking away from the manor, a ghostly woman in white lace, with a pale hood covering her face, appeared from nowhere. The entity placed her hands on his shoulders, spun him around and pushed him away.

The Lodge is a great place to spend the night (especially if you want to visit the stones at dawn, before most visitors arrive) and has its own ghost stories. The current owner has not encountered anything, and is quite sceptical, but chatted about a former occupier who believed the building to be the most haunted house in England. It was claimed that The Lodge was home to a ghostly Georgian gentleman, children, a young woman and a voice that spoke in French. A spectral coach drawn by a team of four horses also haunted the area. Despite being a vegetarian B&B, the smell of frying bacon is reputed to occasionally fill the air.

The henge has its own paranormal stories to share. Locals once said that the stones had an air of ill luck, and that homes constructed from pieces of the stones experienced poltergeist activity. Disembodied singing can be heard emanating from the circle, and during the twentieth century, one person has stood within the Neolithic monument and observed a medieval fair. A large, diamond shaped stone on the outer ring is reputed to animate and cross the road at midnight. The area has also been subject to several UFO sightings, the glowing balls of light believed by some to be responsible for crop circles which regularly appear in the surrounding countryside.

Florrie is the name given to the phantom that haunts the Red Lion. She was married to an English Civil War soldier, but after the veteran discovered that Florrie had several love affairs while he away fighting, the soldier strangled her (or stabbed, depending on the story) and disposed of her body down a well. Her ghost is said to scratch anyone she takes a dislike to, particularly those who remind her of her former husband, and she is blamed for the mild poltergeist activity in the pub.

Despite my lack of paranormal encounters within the village (though I did see my first crop circle a couple of miles down the road), I did find Avebury to be a fascinating place to stay; it is difficult not to be impressed by workmanship that has survived fifty centuries, and is likely to remain for millennia after you and I have gone. For those who have not watched it, I would suggest finding a copy of the 1970s children's television programme Children of the Stones before you visit...

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