To feel weird in Glastonbury

[Wellsbells]

I moved about a half hour’s drive from Glastonbury a few years ago but have only visited the town itself once. I hated it. It just felt uncomfortable and a bit sinister, and I couldn’t wait to leave. I’ve not felt that way anywhere else, I mean there are places I like more than others of course but this was just a really strong sense of “I want to get out of here”. Would be interested to know if anyone else has felt this way? Or about anywhere else?

@Coffeeisnecessary

I love that area but it does have an unusual feeling. I'm interested if anyone has any positive or negative views of nearby Wells? I am not woo but the atmosphere is so peaceful there, I love it. I agree with a pp thay Glastonbury atmosphere reminds me of Lewes in Sussex.

Do you mean Wells-next-the-Sea? Love it there too, but incredibly busy in summer. I remember in the 1980s it was so quiet and very, very different i.e. an outsider would have felt scrutinised in a locals' pub. At least we could get fish n chips without a mile long queue...

Not a town but a place.
Wordsworth's cottage in the lakes.
Two feet in the door and I was desperate to leave. Just a niggling feeling something wasnt right.

Parts of Herefordshire feel this way to me. My DP and I once left a holiday cottage a day early because it felt so weird, neither of us could sleep and while I’m prone to feeling spooked, DP never is. Even he felt we were being watched. I didn’t feel right again until we got on the motorway.

Glastonbury on the other hand I really like! I’ve been countless times.

Yes that weird shop was full of taxidermy and animal skulls

Definitely same shop- it was near the toy shop

@Lovemusic33

Try looking below the tourist gloss

Here are the crime stats for Glastonbury. It has a population of around 9000. They are incredibly high for a very small rural town. It's a violent place despite it's hippy reputation

www.ukcrimestats.com/Subdivisions/CED/15605/

Compare this with Wells which is a few miles away and has a very slightly larger population

www.ukcrimestats.com/Neighbourhood/7544

Got £3000 to spare? Then you can be a fully qualified priestess (whatever that means).

If you want to buy pagan tat at inflated prices then yes it's a great place.....

I stand by my remarks - I know too many people who have been seduced by the glamour of the place and have been chewed up and spat out by it.

I like Wells, it’s very pretty and the cathedral is amazing, I keep meaning to take Dd1 back there.

I have just looked at Malvern, I think I need to visit there too, the collage (school) looks like something off of Harry Potter.

Yes, Japan.

I hated it. I felt uneasy and had no peace the whole time I was there. Just a sinister feeling. Was Osaka if that changes anything.

I go to Lewes quite often and never feel anything creepy or weird there. To me it's just a quaint pretty town with naice shops so I guess it's different for everyone.

DP and I also had a weird experience on the Isle of Iona. Both had insanely vivid dreams of being chased, which is totally normal for me but DP never remembers his dreams. They stopped after he shut the window! We love Iona, though.

We stayed in a holiday cottage near Glastonbury. Had a lovely walk from the cottage to the Tor and then into the town. We all loved the walk and felt very happy and positive but 3 out of 4 of us really struggled with an odd and oppressive feeling. I’m not into woo but we are a bit alternative although we dress in quite boring clothes these days. I grew up in Cornwall in the 90s so no stranger to hippies, travellers, drugs culture etc. It just feel really oppressive like a thunder storm on the way, like something pushing down on us. DD aged 10 was fine with it but DD aged 13 with ASD was really unsettled and couldn’t wait to leave. We returned a couple of days later and felt exactly the same. I’m pretty sceptical about vibes and ley lines but it was such a weird and unexpected feeling.

In answer to pp the estate agent is not there now....

I too have bad associations with Scarborough....

Wooky Hole made my physically heave. I had to leave the cave tour and only felt better when we’d driven out of the car park.

@RavenT

Walsingham in Norfolk. One of the weirdest places I've ever been to.

Yep, we felt that too. Very odd place.

Me as well. Really not helped by the woman in the grocery shop telling me she didn’t serve “people like you”. I can only assume it was because I had black and red hair at the time. Some very odd people in that place and all I could think of was the James Herbert book “Shrine”

I was brought up on Arthurian legends so was desperate to feel something in both Glastonbury and Tintagel - but nothing.

Glastonbury is full of crap,shops selling cheap, crap to wannabe hippies and Tintagel is just a naff tourist destination.

Totnes reminds me of Lewes in Sussex, but Lewes does weird so much better.

We once left a holiday cottage in Yorkshire early. My partner has no time for whoooo stuff but he couldn't get out of there quick enough
Also an Oxfam shop near me has a really horrible vibe.

The weird smell is not the drains! It’s the sewage works that sits between glast and street, it doesn’t always smell it just does quite bad when the winds blowing in the right direction!

Palmer and snell had the rude estate agent, used to love reading the paper and reading all the ads, very funny. No idea if he still does it as I don’t buy the local rag anymore.

@HintOfVintagePink

Wooky Hole made my physically heave. I had to leave the cave tour and only felt better when we’d driven out of the car park.

I feel the same about that place, we went a couple years ago whilst staying in Glastonbury and I couldn’t wait to leave, the caves were ok but the over all feel of the place was gloomy.

The place that really freaked me out though was the underground hospital in Guernsey. Was never so pleased to see daylight again.

Shepton Mallet brings me out in a rash. Also, Land's End in Cornwall is creepy/depressing. It's a bit like Cheddar Gorge - a beautiful place ruined by weird people peddling weird shit.

It gives me a headache. It's en-route to the shop we use to buy supplies for our fish tank and we've occasionally stopped at the big Tesco. I inevitably end up with a sicky kind of headache after too long there. It's the same headache I get if DH uses that one particular deodorant that smells musky, or if I spend too long in Lush. Maybe it's all the incense in the air!

I feel like this in Matlock Bath. Very strange place.

Someone mentioned. Hebden Bridge feeling weird too.

One thing Heb and Glastonbury have in common is the ‘phoney’ potential, which might be responsible for the weird vibes.

Heb is traditionally full of southerners, as is nearby Todmorden.

Maybe Glastonbury because we already know it’s a religious and spiritual mecca you know you’re going to have to deal with new agers and the awkward conversation dilemma of crusties pretending to be hippies when their parents are invariably upper middle class

Penzance might also have this marmite effect on people. It too attracts ‘alternative’ types.

Personally I’m a fan of them all having lived in each except Glastonbury . But with Glastonbury particularly I can get that the expectation of mystery generates an atmosphere of vibes if you’re walking past blatant pagans constantly and rainbow wind chimes in every single shop window.

Woo unscientific people

Im a doctor so am I allowed a bit of woo or not?

@Hailtomyteeth Exeter is way too boring for the devil

My uncomfortable place is Alnwick. It is the only place in the UK where I felt like evil had happened and yet the actual place has beautiful surroundings. The locals were all very nice but it was something almost swirling around in the air.

Yes, Matlock Bath, weird