Burley, new forest

The cute witch town of Burley in the New Forest. The village was made famous by the renowned witch, Sybil Leek, during the late 1950s. Sybil was born in Stoke on Trent but moved down to the New forest in her 20 s where, she opened three antique shops; one in Ringwood, one in Somerset, and one in the New Forest village of Burley. She soon moved to Burley herself, into a house behind the shop Lawfords of Burley. She was often seen walking around Burley with her pet jackdaw on her shoulder. She wrote many books on occult and esoteric subjects, and was dubbed “Britain’s most famous witch” by the BBC. Media interest grew, but Sybil became tired of the attention from news reporters and tourists. Although her infamy caused tourism to increase in the village some residents were not happy and her landlord eventually refused to renew her lease. After this Sybil moved to America where she went on to pursue her first love, astrology and went on to feature on numerous tv and radio shows. Burley is also known in English folklore for being the location of a dragon’s lair at Burley Beacon. Apparently the creature “flew” every morning to Bisterne, about 3 miles west of Burley, where it would be supplied with milk. If you go in winter you can see the Miracle Trees, certain trees near the old Vicarage are so named because they break in to leaf at Christmas time.