Image via Wikipedia

According to legend, 200 years ago some soldiers were exploring the area underneath the keep at Richmond Castle and discovered the entrance to a tunnel. They believed that the tunnel went all the way to Easby Abbey, nearly a mile away, as the crow flies, and about one and a half miles by road. The soldiers were keen to follow the tunnel to its end but it had partially collapsed, making it impossible for a full grown man to get through.

A brave drummer boy volunteered to make the journey instead, beating on his drum as he went, so that the soldiers would be able to follow above and plot the course of the tunnel. All went well and they succeeded in reaching middle distance. Then the drumming stopped. Something had happened to the drummer boy.

It is possible that the tunnel collapsed or that some other calamity happened down there in the earth, but we have no way of knowing what became of the drummer boy. There are those, however, who tie his fate into another local myth that states that King Arthur and his knights lie sleeping in a cavern somewhere underneath Richmond Castle. The King and his men are supposedly waiting until such a time that Britain needs them again. At the time of the drummer boy’s disappearance some people believed that it may be possible that his drumming had disturbed the sleeping knights, who then asked him to join them in their wait.

Present day visitors to Richmond can follow the supposed route of the drummer boy by doing the Drummer Boy Walk. The walk begins in the market place and follows a three mile long circuitous route, that encompasses Frenchgate, St. Mary’s Church, and the banks of the River Swale. After reaching Easby Abbey the walk then returns along the old railway track to finish back at the castle. It is a very pleasant walk through some spectacular countryside, but before you consider taking the walk please be aware that there is another local story that states that sometimes, on a cold night, if you listen very carefully, you might just hear the sound of a drum drumming faintly somewhere beneath your feet.