Monks & Lanterns on St Catherine’s Hill: A Full Moon Encounter

It was April 2023 when my friend suggested we go wild camping on St Catherine’s Hill in Winchester. It would be full moon and, although the weather would be cold, there was no rain forecast and the skies were clear. The conditions felt perfect for an adventure.

St Catherine’s Hill itself is a place steeped in history. Around 2,500 years ago, Iron Age settlers built a hillfort here, with circular ramparts encircling the summit and giving wide views over what is now Winchester. Archaeological finds suggest it was a busy community, with roundhouses, storage pits and everyday tools scattered across the site. The fort was eventually attacked and abandoned around the 1st century BC. Later, in the 12th century, a Norman chapel dedicated to St Catherine was built on the top of the hill, the remains of which are amongst the beech trees known locally as “The Clump”. During the Black Death, when local graveyards overflowed, plague pits were dug in the dry valley beside the hill, and mass burials took place.

We parked in the Park & Ride, then we hiked up, careful not to use torches so as not to draw attention, we were wild-camping without permission. The plan was to find a sheltered/hidden spot, aware that dog walkers would be out by dawn and we’d need to be packed up before then. The full moon was bright, there were no clouds, we were safe to trek up the hill.

We circled the hill under the bright moonlight, we spotted five figures approaching us, their shapes outlined by the cars travelling on the motorway behind them. They were holding what looked like torches or lanterns at chest height. We ducked behind a bush and hid. We didn’t want to be evicted from the hill after all this effort. We looked at the time: it was half-past midnight. Nobody is out walking their dog at half-past midnight.

We waited for them to pass—but they never did.

When we finally stepped out, the figures had vanished without a trace. There was nowhere obvious they could have gone in that short space of time. There was nowhere else for them to go, based on the direction they were headed in. I turned to my friend and said, “I think we saw spirits.” We both got a little bit spooked, the presence didn’t feel threatening, more like we had briefly stepped into someone else’s time.

After we’d calmed down, we did another check of the area and then settled down for the night. The moon remained clear and bright. Despite the freezing conditions, and the spiritual encounter, we both had a fairly good sleep.

We woke early, packed up, and found ourselves surrounded by the most surreal mist. We literally couldn’t see more than about 100 metres. If there were any spirits revisiting in the morning, we couldn’t see them!

I warmed some breakfast to share on my compact stove, had cold hands on hot mugs. Once breakfast was over, we did a litter pick, taking home rubbish others had left behind. It felt important to give something back to a place that had hosted us.

We were slightly tired but refreshed from the revitalizing experience of sleeping outside under the full moon.

Later, after researching St Catherine’s Hill, I discovered that other people had witnessed the same phenomenon: four or five figures, monks, walking at night holding lanterns, who then disappear without explanation. It seems our mysterious midnight visitors are part of the hill’s long tradition of ghostly stories and spiritual encounters.

Thanks to my lovely friend Hagthorn (check out her YouTube) for the experience and invite.