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‘Myself and a friend, we were aged around fourteen at the time, went for a walk one summer’s day as we often did. It was the summer holidays, so we had all the time in the world. We packed a drink, sandwich, water for my dog Ralph and set off. We had no mobile phones then, so we were always sure to be home before it got dark. We walked and talked about everything and nothing, as teenagers do. The route we walked we had trodden many times before without issue and we knew exactly where we were and where we were heading. Our path took us across fields with horses, down narrow hidden public foot paths lined with bushes, alongside a stream. It was quiet and the birds were singing and bugs buzzing about. All of a sudden we realized we were no longer on our path and in a place we had never seen before. An old house stood to the left of us, but we were within an apple orchard, beehives dotted around the left-hand side of the house. A dirt path went in between the trees to the right of the house so we decided to follow on. The place had a strange feeling, not scary just out of place perhaps and old. It was silent and it also, in hindsight, seemed to be autumn there but it was midsummer. We didn’t realize this until afterwards. We carried onwards down the path through the orchard, after a few moments of confusion as to where we were. We didn’t see anyone as we walked through the orchard. The path seemed to go on a long while until we suddenly appeared to step out into a shaded open woodland glade covered in bluebells. It was shaded yet the sun shone through the trees. It was beautiful and peaceful. It really made us gasp as it was so amazing. The air was warm and the scent of the flowers was strong. There was a really tiny, abandoned chapel building to our left and then just bluebells as far as we could see. We were captivated and decided to find a spot to sit so we could have a drink and eat our picnic. After maybe ten to fifteen minutes, we suddenly became aware of music playing somewhere in the distance: far away yet close at the same time. It was some kind of flute, almost like medieval minstrel-type music. At least that’s the closest I’ve come to describing it. We stopped talking, both looking across the glade in the direction it was coming from and just watched/listened in silence. Even my dog Ralph was aware as he stared in the same direction frozen to the spot. Suddenly it seemed to get louder and closer as a great gust of wind blew right in our faces and all around us. The music seemed to be in the wind. It was an unnatural wind. It was a still, calm summer’s day. We felt almost surrounded as if being pushed. We both let out a scream and Ralph began to bark. We were terrified and no longer welcome. We grabbed our belongings and ran as fast as we could. The wind and strange music billowing after us still. We ran back through the orchard, past the house and back on to the public footpath. My dog Ralph barked as we ran. Once we knew where we were and could stop to discuss our experience, we both thought we’d stepped into some other time or place and we both said we thought it was Fairies – a time slip into their world. Until the wind chased us away, we were happy, peaceful and relaxed, even though it was strange. The wind and music did scare us though, but it was as if we had overstayed our welcome or had happened to be in a place we shouldn’t have been by chance. We tried multiple times to try and find the house in the orchard with the beehives and the woodland glade again, but we never could, no matter which end of the footpath we came from. Where we had been that day just didn’t exist. Myself and my friend have never forgotten what happened that day. I can still remember each and every detail. Although we didn’t see any physical beings, we just knew it was the Fae, almost like we could see them and feel them but with our inner eyes. My dog Ralph absolutely saw them though as he reacted so strongly. It was an amazing experience that I shall treasure as long as I live. Even though it was a bit scary they didn’t hurt us. It was more of a ‘right-girls-you-shouldn’t-be-here’ feeling.’ ‘Bells, flute and drum. Medieval-type sound.’ Why fairy? ‘It was the place in nature we were and just an inner knowing.’ Fairies are ‘spirits of nature and place.’ ‘Feel lucky to have had this experience.’