BeastHidden
The dragon's den
Every morning it went down the hill for milk.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Wooded hill above Burley village
- Legend from
- Family tradition
- Tone
- Curious
A hilltop lair above Burley, with a long walk each morning to fetch the milk.
Burley Beacon is a hill above the New Forest village of Burley. In the legend of the Bisterne Dragon this is where the beast had its den, and from here it went down each day to Bisterne for its milk. The 1652 carving on Bisterne Manor is said to show the dragon with the beacon. Burley is also known for Sybil Leek, who lived there in the 1950s and publicised herself as a witch. The legend is recorded in a Berkeley family pedigree roll from before 1618, according to the fetched page.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.