UK Bigfoot seen at the Wigan Flashes

“Hi Mick, I recently saw your video titled 'The Wigan Flashes Mystery' and I was absolutely stunned by the gentleman you interviewed mentioning not only his own sighting but the sighting the lady had, who came running towards him with her dog.

I've only ever spoken about this incident/experience with one other person, which was a couple of years ago now. Prior to that, I'd never breathed a word of it, basically for fear of ridicule, as that is what normally happens to people who experience things like this. I was planning on telling my current partner but she thinks such things are ludicrous, so I've always kept it to myself.

So basically, I used to work at the CWS/Rockware glassworks which was off Webster Street in Platt Bridge, Wigan. This factory used to back on to the land where the flashes are, it closed in '91 and was demolished in the 90s and a new housing estate now stands there.

The factory originally used to have some of its raw materials delivered by rail, and the old supply rail lines were still there but were disused in the 1980's although the company had never closed the opening in the fence where the rails came into the factory. Myself and a work mate used this route to sneak out on a late/night shift and go walking around the flash and down that section of the Leeds/Liverpool canal. This used to happen anytime between 7 and 8pm or on nights between 1am and 4am. We'd often hear sounds as if someone was following us and what we perceived as growling noises but we always just put it down to our imaginations or maybe even stray dogs. Then one night but a stop to our sneaking out. We never left the building after what happened.

Then one particularly clear moonlit night in Sept/Oct 1987 we were both out and just walking around and enjoying the night. We could hear fairly loud footstep noises that sounded as if someone was walking and they were coming towards us. So we crouched down in the bushes (they are full grown trees now and fairly dense but back then they weren't so big). Because of where we were, we thought it was probably a couple of work mates who sometimes came with us or went out on their own and were making their way back to work.

My mate who was with me whispered something to me and 'it' stopped dead, it either heard him speak or smelled us as ‘it’ stopped suddenly. We were silent and after what seemed like ages, whatever it was, took a couple of steps and moved into a position where we could see it. It was about 30 ft away from us, and ‘it’ was very big. It looked to be possibly around 7ft tall, the moonlight was behind ‘it’ so the front of ‘it’ was in silhouette, so I couldn't make any facial or bodily features out. It had its arms raised out to its side but lower than shoulder height. My first thought was that it was a big guy with straggly hair wearing a cowboy style jacket, the kind with the tassels running down the arms, but I realised it was hair that was about 4 to 5 inches long. Then all of a sudden ‘it’ let out this extremely loud and very long scream/roar. It sounded like a man to start with but the volume was absolutely ear splitting and I could feel the noise inside me, as if I was standing next to a big speaker.

The scream/roar I'd guess lasted for 10 or 15 seconds, it tailed off in the middle then went loud again before ending in a deep roar. I felt dizzy/nauseous, but this passed and I remember rubbing my eyes feeling like they were really dry and stinging a bit, when I opened my eyes again, it was completely gone, and we couldn't hear it walking away. The weird thing was, I felt like I was in a soundproof room, all the time this went on, no noise at all, once it disappeared, all felt normal again and we could hear the factory noises in the background.

We didn't want to move but had to, to get ourselves back to work. After about 10 mins, finally we plucked up the courage to head back, we really got a move on and we're more or less walking with our heads facing backwards trying to make sure ‘it’ wasn't behind us. We were talking about what it could have been. But we couldn't actually say what it was at the time. I had heard of Bigfoot when I was a kid watching Arthur C. Clarke's mysterious world but I figured they were only in America. We got back and my mate told me not to say anything to anyone as we'd have the p*ss taken out of us relentlessly at work, and I agreed.

My friend, by the way, is a big fellow, he is 6ft 4, but this thing was way taller than him. Also he was a hard case and no one messed with him but this thing petrified him, he was white and shaking. I've tried to speak to him about it a couple of times over the years but he just shuts me down, says that as far as he's concerned it didn't happen as things like that don't exist.

It's only in recent years, with the advent of various Facebook groups that I believe what we saw was probably a British bigfoot/wildman/woodwose, call it what you will. Also something to mention is that we weren't far from what we as kids called the Murder bridge/devil's bridge. I used to take my dog walking around there a few years ago as it's now a nice walk through the woods, but I always had a feeling I was being watched so I always took someone else with me.

Mick McLaren (W.H.I.T) Map

https://goo.gl/maps/RJM3gBozwVdZBTv59

The M62 Breakdown Incident - 1977

In late 1977 I was in the British Army stationed in Shrewsbury.I  had decided to visit my parents in the North East. Prior to my leaving that Friday afternoon my Sgt asked if he could give him, his wife and two children a lift to Hull. Their car had broken down that morning. We set off in my Morris Marina TC and the route was north on the M6 then east on the M62. As we traveled on the M62 a piece of metal debris sliced off the bottom of my engine sump. I came to a halt on the hard shoulder and we all got out and got behind the crash barrier. As I walked to the emergency phone, a number of other vehicles had hit this debris and were coming to a halt.I  rang the RAC and police. When I returned quite a few damaged vehicles were lined up on the hard shoulder.  Police arrived and cleared the debris and shortly afterwards a RAC Land Rover arrived. All around were shouting for help but the RAC man shouted for Mr Robson (lucky me I thought). The RAC then towed me off the M62 at the next exit and stopped at a layby. He then explained that he was going to take my passengers to a Railway Station for their onward journey to Hull and return for me!!!! He said don't leave the vehicle. The layby I was dumped at was high up on the moors and some distance from the Motorway Junction. (I have searched on Street View and I believe it was the A672 Junction).  I could see no other buildings. When they left it started to snow! I could not start my engine as there was no oil left in the engine. Luckily I had my army combat jacket and trousers, gloves, boots and a small camping stove with two gas canisters in the boot. I sat in the car with the stove alight between my legs and the snow kept falling.  Hours passed and I must have fallen asleep. I was woken up with someone knocking on the window. The stove had gone out and the inside of the car windows and my glasses were frosted up! I scraped the window and with my glasses off I saw what I thought was a big black man in a fur coat. He waved and walked away. I quickly changed my gas canister and warmed up. At around midnight, some 2 or 3 hours later, the snow had stopped falling. A Police Landrover turned up and a Policeman shouted out of his window with the words "What was I up to?" I told him I was left there by the RAC and they had not returned. They radioed their Control and after a few minutes told me the RAC had been looking for me and thought I had got help elsewhere!!!! I asked them if they had seen a big black guy in a fur coat walking about but they said they had not. I eventually got recovered to a garage in Dewsbury. I did complain in writing to the RAC about their shit service but cannot recall the reply. I am, however, still a member! I have over the years retold this story about the night I nearly died and the strange black guy in the snow. I always travel with an emergency kit in my car. Over the years I had never made the possible connection between the 'big blackman in a fur coat' and a 'Bigfoot'.

Now I wonder if he was worried about my safety!!!

Mick McLaren (W.H.I.T) Map

https://goo.gl/maps/RJM3gBozwVdZBTv59

UFO coming out of the reservoir

Both my friend and I are professional people with responsible jobs. We used to go running around Darwin Moor, Roddlesworth, Great hill or any combination of those areas two or three times a week.

One pleasant summers evening we were running towards Annesdale reservoir downhill from the water Bailiff house. My friend said to me “I want to tell you something” he asked me not to laugh, or if I found what he was going to say to outlandish, not to tell anyone. I promise him that he had my complete confidence. He told me “one evening he and another friend we’re out running towards the reservoir” without a smile or a blink of an eye. He looked me square in the eyes and said that both he and his friend witnessed a craft coming out of the reservoir, hovering and flying away, we stood in front of each other and I said “I believe you,” he said he would tell me more detail, but for one reason or another the opportunity never arose. Life moves on and events over take us. There is definitely some sort of presence in the area. Many times I’ve been out over the moors in the early morning and I felt like I’m been watched only to look around and see nothing. 

Mick McLaren (W.H.I.T) Map

https://goo.gl/maps/RJM3gBozwVdZBTv59

UFO over the Twinnies

On Sunday 11th April a witness got in touch with me by phone to tell me about an experience he had in 1989 while he was night fishing with 4 friends. The area is off Belmont Road, Bolton at a fishing reservoir know locally as the Twinnies, the reason it is called the Twinnies is because there are two fishing reservoirs right next to each other.

The witness who worked nights at a local firm had the night off and had decided to go fishing, he said "I was stood near the water and just like someone switching on a light switch, a very bright light lit the area up like a football pitch, all my four friends fell to the floor out of shock at this point". He said there wasn't any noise, it being dark one minute and then all of a sudden a very bright light above them. "At this point" he said "the light moved up higher into the sky and then like the star ship Enterprise in Star Trek it shot of at a speed leaving a trail of light and headed towards the television mast on Winter Hill". he kept stating there was no sound all through this experience of which they all packet up and left. He had in the time there caught enough fish to give to a few friends at work he had promised, he headed to see his friends at work to give the fish and tell them what had happened. After telling them a couple of them said "they saw a UFO coming up from the hills in the direction of the twinnies and shot of towards the TV mast at Winter Hill".

Mick McLaren (W.H.I.T) Map

https://goo.gl/maps/RJM3gBozwVdZBTv59

Wilton Country Park British Bigfoot

On 01/09/2018 Oliver came home after being on camping trip, being busy with lots to do (one being he had to sort out all his pets) unfortunately one of his chickens had passed away. Being upset about this he took it up to Billinge wood on the outskirts of Blackburn to an area he had a bushcraft shelter to bury it. Because that evening was such a lovely warm evening he decided to stay out a little longer by walking the long way home through the lovely green belt of trees and fields instead of going along the main road. He said "it wasn’t a conscious choice I had made, I was just following my feet where they were taking me, these are the paths I have been walking from being a teenager, over fifteen years and knowing the area like the back of my hand". He had no anxiety of being out on his own but as soon as he walked through one of the gates into a woods called Big Cover Wood, Oliver said "at this point I felt an energy shift from being outside of the woods to being inside' the atmosphere felt as though it was all around, making me feel as though it was squeezing tight and that was the first thing I noticed", he had no other reason to think anything was out of the ordinary so he just carried on. While he walked along a path that ran along a creek bed which at this time of year was almost a trickle he stepped just past a tree and turned his head, he carried on walking then stopped and looked to the direction where he had seen something that he had not seen before and thought it was odd. He then stepped back a couple of paces to see through a line in the trees a strange orangutang orange cone shaped thing sticking up out of the bushes, as he strained his eyes he thought that’s interesting. I've never seen that before. At that moment he started to see this conical shaped head turn to look in his direction, as the head turned, it’s right arm came up and reached for a branch high up in the tree, he said "the arm was the same colour as the head, at this point I couldn’t believe what I was seeing" and in one fluid motion it almost shimmied around, he said "the best way to describe the movement is, it moved like a ballerina doing a pirouette, it was so fluid and quick and effortless moving behind a tree and then again at this point my mouth was on the floor and the last thing I saw before I ran off was these big fat sausage like fingers wrapped around the side of the tree bark and then it’s face peeked out with the cone shaped head. I can’t remember seeing the eyes but what has stuck with me was its teeth being pearly white and its skin texture was black and leathery." After Oliver had seen the teeth he ran out of the woods to the open field then collapsed to his knees, when he recovered a little he then ran all the way home in terror.

Oliver, who is a wild camper, did eventually in 2022 start wild camping again and has
taken a bigger interest now as he had before in the British Bigfoot with his encounter.

Mick McLaren (W.H.I.T) Map

https://goo.gl/maps/RJM3gBozwVdZBTv59