Part of the River Wye, between Hereford and Ross on Wye is said to be haunted by a young woman who sails at around 8pm. The ghostly journey begins at the city and ends in North Brigg which was a small village. What is strange about this story is that no matter what the current of the river the ghost sails in her small boat at great speed - even if the wind was against her! Once the ghostly lady had reached her destination she is said to stand on the eastern river bank for some time, making the most frightening lamentations. Once this was done she would return to her sailing vessel and return to the city at great speed again. On arrival at a certain point in the river, about half a mile from the city, the lady and her vessel would disappear suddenly.

The ghostly lady is said to be Isobel Chandos who was the daughter of the governor of Hereford Castle back in the fourteenth century. She met a man named Despenser who was a favourite of King Edward the second. One evening Despenser informed Isobel that the castle was going to be attacked and that she should leave with him immediately. Isobel chose to stay behind to warn her father and subsequently the attack failed. Despenser was captured and hanged in High Town as he was one of those behind the planned attack on the castle! Poor Isobel had unwittingly betrayed him by informing her father of the impending attack. Realising what she had done Isobel became fraught with grief and frequently went rowing alone on the Wye. Eventually, on one of her outings, she must have come up against a strong current or fallen out of the sailing vessel as she drowned. She now rows down this same stretch of river and goes ashore at the place where she and Despenser used to meet. It is there that she spends time weeping and wailing before returning home on her ghostly voyage.

It is said that bad fortune will come to those that see the ghost of this lady as she speeds down the Wye in search of her lover.

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