A mysterious waterfall that "turns everything around it to stone"
There's a mysterious landmark in the English town of Nurseborough that has been stirring the minds of mystics and ordinary people alike since 1630. It is the waterfall at Mother Shipton Cave, named after a local clairvoyant and prophetess.
This small waterfall at Mother Shipton Cave was opened to the public in 1630. After a while, locals started noticing strange phenomena - supposedly everything that came into contact with the water from this place became stone. Many people feared that they too would become petrified by touching the water. There was also an equally strange story behind the story of the waterfall.
Mother Shipton's Cave is named after the British prophetess Ursula Southeil, who is believed to have been born right there. Legend has it that she was born as a result of her mother's union with the devil, and was ugly at birth. But when Ursula became an adult, she predicted many things: legend also says that she predicted the Spanish Armada, the Great Fire of London in 1666, and even the invention of mobile phones.
Many people want to believe that the waterfall really does have magical properties, but there is simple science involved. Scientists have found out that its water does have special properties. It contains a large amount of soluble limestone, and if this water gets on something, limestone deposits start to accumulate on the object.
Decades ago, locals left some items here, and over time they have indeed fossilised - for example, a petrified men's cylinder and a woman's hat from the 1850s are still in place today. Newer items left behind by the inhabitants under the water are a bicycle and teddy bears.
