Fairy Rock: An ancient legend and nature's revenge off the coast of Whitehaven (8 photos)

Local legends say that fairies once danced here by moonlight, luring handsome young men into their grottoes.





At the foot of Fairy Rock on the coast of Whitehaven in Cumbria, northwest England, lie the ancient ruins of the Saltom Pit mine's engine room, the world's first major mine to be driven below sea level. Fairy Rock is slowly but surely sliding toward this structure. The reason may be that the soft coal and shale layer beneath the heavy sandstone cliffs becomes soaked by rainwater, becoming slippery, causing landslides. Or perhaps this is an act of revenge on the part of the fairies.



According to local legends, these magical creatures once inhabited the grottoes of Fairy Rock. They were as tall as a man, but left no trace where they walked. They wore white robes and danced in the moonlight, and were also known for inviting attractive young men to their dances.





One 17th-century legend tells of such a young man who swore eternal allegiance to one of the fairies, presumably the Fairy Queen herself. He promised to spend half his time in her world. The fairy commanded him to come only on full moon nights, promising to be his guide on such nights. He also swore an oath to this.



But one day he tried to visit his beloved without a full moon. In response, a terrible groan came from the depths of the sea, and a terrible storm arose. The young man perished. They say his voice can still be heard from the spot in the bay where the waves washed up his body when the storm approaches. It was there that he made his bold but rash vows.



The last fairy on the rock was said to have appeared in the form of a calf flying over the sea. When the witness exclaimed, "My God! How nimbly that calf leaps!" the fairy caught up with him and vanished.



A significant portion of Fairy Rock collapsed into the sea during a storm in 1872, but the rock itself is still visible. Unlike its mysterious inhabitants.



Years pass, turning into centuries, but the legend lives on. Locals still retell the story of the youth and the Queen, gazing at the cliff's outline at dusk. They believe the fairies haven't left these places forever, but are merely biding their time to dance again under the silvery moonlight.