Sarah Sands explored 10 magical monasteries from Italy to Bulgaria for her book The Interior Silence

Many in isolation are desperate for travel. I, meanwhile, have been travelling in order to find isolation. Inspired by a 13th-century Cistercian wall at the bottom of my garden in Norfolk, a couple of years ago I began visiting some of the great religious houses of Britain and then traced the route of monasticism from … Read more

The Beast of Battersea explored in new BBC ghost-hunter series

Jolted awake as she felt the bedclothes being snatched from her body, 15-year-old Shirley Hitchings let out a terrified scream which brought her father Wally and older brother John rushing into her bedroom in Battersea, South London. They arrived just in time to see a sheet being spirited from her bed by invisible hands — … Read more

The Beast of Battersea explored in new BBC ghost-hunter series

Jolted awake as she felt the bedclothes being snatched from her body, 15-year-old Shirley Hitchings let out a terrified scream which brought her father Wally and older brother John rushing into her bedroom in Battersea, South London. They arrived just in time to see a sheet being spirited from her bed by invisible hands — … Read more