The Mystery of Bigfoot in Britain

BeastofBolamLakeA recent sighting of cryptozoology favorite, Bigfoot, was reportedly seen in Britain and photographed. Could it be true? Could this monster of a beast really live in such a confined and highly populated country?  CryptoVille begins to look into the mystery.

When I first heard of this report, I was skeptical. One thing we know about American Bigfoots is that they require a huge territory with dense areas of vegetation to hide and lots of game to hunt. In fact, some researchers think they may follow migrations of deer through the seasons. (Artist’s rendering of the Beast of Bolam Lake, right.)

Size Matters

Let’s first look at some logistics. Britain would fit inside the state of Texas. While Texas is, I believe, our second largest state in the Union, confining a population of large animals there wouldn’t bode well for them. I know people claim to see Bigfoots in Texas, particularly in the Eastern forested sections. But those creatures are free to roam up into Oklahoma, over to Kentucky, wherever they need to go to find food and water as the seasons dictate.

So my first thought is that a population of Bigfoots large enough to reproduce successfully (i.e., minus inbreeding problems) would be very “squeezed” into an island the size of Britain.

Most Recent Report

The report that jumpstarted this discussion again began in the Friskney Nature Reserve which is in the Northeast section of the country, right along the coast. A man named Adam Bird, described as a “Bigfoot enthusiast”, claims to have captured some images of the beast while he was walking through the reserve.

At first he didn’t see the creature, but later, upon examining his photos, he spotted the dark anomaly in the distance.  He claims that he was walking that particular route because he was hearing strange, unidentifiable noises and seeing large footprints.

This is what he said to a reporter for the UK’s Mirror:

“My investigators and I were tipped off that this small patch of woodland in Friskney could be a hotspot for Bigfoot beasts. There is at least one reported sighting here, so we decided to check it out. We stayed there for a few hours that day and felt watched and followed the whole time. I took various photographs throughout the investigation and when I checked back through them, I spotted the creepy picture. It looks like a shadowy figure stood within the trees staring at us from afar.”

My thoughts: one report does not a “hotspot” make. Look at the photos and see for yourself. I don’t think they look “shadowy” nor does it look particularly creepy. I mean it’s broad daylight and the figure is quite far ahead of them. That’s all.

Photo 1

BritBigfoot02

You see the “figure” in the distance. It does look sort of humanoid, but frankly, it could also be a hole in the side of a tree, or something else formed naturally. As per usual in the Bigfoot field, we have another nondescript, hard to decipher photo. For me, this isn’t proof.

Photo 2

BritBigfoot01

The enlargement of the same photo. For me, this doesn’t help at all. That could be anything.

Photo 3

ThePrint

The footprint. The most definite thing about this “evidence” is the line the researchers put around it. I don’t see a whole lot there. What looks like toe indentations continues out both sides of the outline making me think that must just be a natural crack in the dry dirt.

Landscape

Note the landscape in those photos above. Yes, it looks forested, but it also looks pretty barren at the moment. I tried to find out if deer populated the area because in the Americas, deer is the Bigfoot’s protein of choice. What I did discover is that this area is so close to the ocean, that tourists come in droves to see all the species of seals that live there.

Could Bigfoot eat seals? Maybe a carcass, but they are pretty slippery when alive and wet, so it seems doubtful.

Another Account

I read an article by Nick Redfern, whom you may know more from his association with UFO hunting. The article is dated 1-19-2, which I’m guessing means January 19, but is it 2002 or 2012? I have no idea.

NickRedfernAnyway, he describes a group of “monster hunters” (called the Centre for Fortean Zoology) that work out of Exeter, England. The group is made up of journalist Jonathan Downes, zoologist Richard Freeman, Graham Inglis, and John Fuller. Nick said they found some interesting evidence for an “ape-man” living in the British Isles.

It seems the investigators were in the area of Bolam Lake when they saw what they call “The Beast of Bolam Lake.” They said it was about eight feet tall, three feet wide (the shoulders?), with dark colored hair.

Nick quotes Downes saying, “We only saw it for a few seconds then it vanished into the trees. This is the latest in a bizarre series of Big Hairy Man sightings which have confounded zoologists and which have taken place in the UK in the last six months. I have been a professional monster hunter for years but the thing I saw has prompted me to completely re-evaluate my whole world view.”

BeastofBolamLakeNick writes, “The events at Bolam Lake are part of a larger, nationwide spate of similar reports that has included encounters at Cannock Chase, Staffordshire; Sussex; Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood fame; Cumbria; and Longridge Fell, Lancashire – a place renowned for “monster” sightings.” (Artist’s rendering of the Beast of Bolam Lake, right.)

This group also collected hair samples that they were sending to “specialists” in Scotland, England, the USA, and Denmark for testing. No results have been forthcoming which I’m going to assume means the samples were from known animals which is why they didn’t make the news.

Another Viewpoint

I tried to find pictures of this “Beast of Bolam Lake,” not too successfully. But I did find another interesting article by ghost hunter Rob Kirkup. Rob and some friends investigated the area around Bolam Lake hoping to catch a glimpse of the beast. You can read his account here:

http://www.ghostsofthenortheast.co.uk/the-beast-of-bolam-lake.html

The one thing I took away from his account is that he mentions journalist Jonathan Downes as “well respected” and I think Rob means among the paranormal community.

Rob writes, “It’s a lot more likely that this is something paranormal as opposed to a flesh and blood animal. I’ve read a lot of Jon Downes’ work and he believes a lot of the monsters spotted in England are paranormal as there is a lack of places for them to live without being seen, he also says the glowing eyes are a giveaway. There is an iron age fort not far away and legend has it that iron age forts are protected by guardians from another dimension, could the protector be The Beast of Bolam Lake?”

BolamLakeIn all honesty, that’s where they lose me. I know there are strange paranormal occurrences in the world that no one seems able to explain and I intentionally avoid them in CryptoVille because there is no good way to explain any of it, in my opinion. (Bolam Lake, left.)

But without doubt, Bigfoot and his cousins around the world are flesh and blood animals.  So what are people seeing in the Bolam Lake area? Well, if it’s not a flesh and blood animal, maybe it’s a demon or something. I don’t go in for this shapeshifting stuff very much.

Bottom Line

I appreciate Adam Bird’s enthusiasm for the creature. In fact, he said he saw what we call a Skunk Ape in Florida when he was younger and was visiting there on vacation. That fueled his desire to search his native Britain for another cousin of the big hairy guy.

That said, my focus is on finding top quality evidence that we can share with the scientific community which will prove the existence of this creature(s) once and for all. I don’t see that here. I don’t see that in any of the reports/accounts I’ve read so far. In fact this latest report opens up more questions than it answers.

detective girlIf anyone ever finds scientifically sound evidence that “Britfoot” exists, then I’ll be just as happy as the next Bigfoot lover. But until then, I must remain skeptical as to the existence of Bigfoot in Britain.

I’d love to hear what my British readers have to say about this. Have you heard any other stories or reports along these lines through the years?

Til the next time!

 

References

http://www.ghostsofthenortheast.co.uk/the-beast-of-bolam-lake.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/bigfoot-britain-mysterious-figure-lurking-4731307

http://www.rense.com/general33/britfoote.htm

 

4 comments

  1. Wow….I’m with you, Susan. I get so frustrated with reports like this. I wish a real scientific group with all the equipment they can muster would go to one of these “hot spots” and turn it upside down and inside out. If there was an animal of this size living it’s life at ground level(along with all its relatives), and EVEN if nobody actually saw it, DNA evidence would be abundant and everywhere.
    Well, now that I’ve got that off my chest…..I’m going to find that wonderful Bigfoot movie “Harry and the Hendersons” and enjoy the fantasy of what I hope a real Bigfoot
    would be like. If you haven’t seen it, PLEASE do. It’s an amazing little film.

  2. Bigfoot would be established in folklore if true and it just isnt with anything like sufficient emphasis.There would be footprint casts and vocalisation tapes aplenty and many more reported sightings going back decades which there just arent- it isnt believable..but im quite certain is real elsewhere

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