A deep, narrow chasm in the cliff on the coast road south of Newcastle is called Maggie's Leap. The Yorkshire Ramblers' Club journal of 1901 says opinions are divided about Maggie. Malicious rumour had it that she was a witch, but charity held her to be a pretty Irish girl on her way to market with her eggs, who leapt the cleft to escape the kisses of two young men. Modern guides give a darker version in which she was fleeing soldiers and died in the leap.
Folklore & legend
Maggie's Leap
Maggie's Leap, coast road south of Newcastle
Legend; recorded 1901
- Evidence
- Long-standing local tradition
- Access
- Open ground
- Location
- 54.183, -5.876 (Parish-level only, treat as an area)
Sources: Yorkshire Ramblers' Club Journal, "The Ancient Kingdom of Mourne" (1901) [other]; Wikipedia, "Newcastle, County Down" [other]
Comments