4 British myths and legends to explore while in the UK

Britain is a land full of myths and legends, from the Scottish stone circles and the Celtic tales of pixies and other night time nasties, there are plenty of myths and legends to explore while visiting the UK.

The Legend of King Arthur

Perhaps one of the best known of Britain’s legends is King Arthur, the fabled king of Camelot who’s stories have captured the imagination of everyone from children to Hollywood execs. Arthur was said to have defended the country against the Saxons and you can visit locations from his stories at Glastonbury in Somerset and Tintagel in Cornwall amongst other places. The legend states that Merlin, an all powerful magician, put a special sword, Excalibur, into a stone. Whoever was able to remove the sword from the stone was the rightful king, Arthur did so, and the rest as they say is history.

Whether a King Arthur, his knights of the roundtable and the spooky lady in the lake ever existed is up for debate.

The Beast of Bodmin

Though this is a myth, local police were sent to the moor during a period of elevated sighted. The beast of Bodmin is a black, panther like creature that has been spotted hundreds of times roaming the moor in Cornwall. Though there has been no actual verifiable evidence of a beast living on the moor, it has been seen by visitors and residents alike and a suspicious looking skull has also been discovered. Popular theories include that the beast is nothing more than an animal that has escaped from a nearby zoo, but no one really knows.

St George and the dragon

Here’s a myth that we can say for certain is grounded in truth. St George did at least exist, though whether or not he fought a dragon can’t be verified. The man that would become St George is believed to have been a Roman officer of Greek descent. The two main versions of the legend are Greek and Latin, while the dragon version dates back to the 11^th century. The story goes that St George slayed a dragon that was terrorising Libya. He took part in a number of crusades and was eventually named the Patron Saint of England. The St George’s Cross forms part of the English national flag as well as being part of the Union Flag.

Robin Hood and his Merry Men

Robin Hood is a legendary outlaw living in Sherwood Forest in Nottingham. It is a story of good vs evil and poor vs rich, he and his band of merry men would steal from the rich and give their spoils to the poor, constantly outwitting the Sheriff of Nottingham who would over tax his people and irritating King John, while remaining loyal to King Richard. There is a Mighty Oak which features in the stories that can be seen today in Sherwood Forest.