‘The gentle wind rustled the aging leaves in the trees in the peaceful woodland, some falling, floating, twisting to the ground. As the leaf lands, a steady pulse begins from deep within the earth gradually building to a crescendo, before…… silence resumes’

Back in the day (technical history term there….) ok waaaaaay back in the day at the end of the 18th Century, there was a rumour flying round that there was a tunnel stretching from Richmond Castle all the way to Easby Abbey. Slightly concerned that people might be able to breach the fortress, and like an itch that needed to be scratched, the hunt was on for this tunnel, and once the prime suspect was located, it must have been pretty annoying to find that the tunnel was too dilapidated for a fully grown soldier type to fit through.

Enter the poor Drummer Boy. A little lad, who was the perfect size to squeeze through the rubble of the tunnel to investigate its destination.

The Plan? The Boy was to drum constantly as he proceeded along the tunnel. The soldiers would track the path of the tunnel over-ground, guided by the beats of the drum.

The plan was a success, until they reached Easby Woods, where the sound abruptly stopped. The soldiers’ conclusion? The ill-fated Drummer Boy was eaten by a monster straight from the chasm of Hell. Logical Conclusion. But this is the reason that no attempt was made to recover the poor boy’s remains.

There is an alternative ending to this tragic tale (the director’s cut perhaps…..) Another version tells of the drum beat changing moments before they ceased, as though the boy entered a larger chamber under the ground. The story goes that inside the chamber lay the sleeping bodies of King Arthur’s knights who rest underground, only to be awakened when England is in grave danger. There, the Drummer Boy lay down to sleep with them, until the time comes that they are needed again….

In all likelihood he sadly succumbed to a tunnel collapse. But in his memory, there is a stone erected in the last spot from whence his drum beats were heard (like the use of the word ‘whence’ there? Makes it sound all historical and stuff!)

And the story goes that you can still hear those drum beats today from deep below the ground.

Woooooooooooooooo! (That’s me doing a ghostly sound…)

Both Richmond Castle and Easby Abbey are owned by English Heritage and are well worth a visit if you’re ever in Richmond.

WALK TIME! Our route takes you from Richmond, past Richmond Fosse (excellent waterfall) to Easby Abbey, returning via the Drummer Boy stone. So if you want to walk the route of the soldiers that fateful night, you can. Keep your ears open for those ghostly drum beats…

Have you enjoyed our foray into the legends, hidden history and ghostly happenings of Yorkshire?

I would not have been able to write these walks without some of the fantastic resources that I have available. I have always been fascinated with the Tale of the Drummer Boy, but Summer Strevens summarises it really well in her book, Haunted Yorkshire Dales.

The alternate Arthurian version, I found reading Yorkshire Folk Tales, which is literally the home of all the weird and wonderful tales of Yorkshire.

I just wrote the walk bit!