UFO Map

EN PL

Country

United Kingdom

cases
28
years
565–2018

Unexplained: 2 Disputed: 21 Explained: 3 Hoax: 2

  1. 6th century

    1. c. 565 Lake and river monsters · Disputed The Water Beast in the Life of St. Columba River Ness near Inverness, Scotland According to the Life written by Adomnán, the Irish monk Columba drove off with the sign of the cross a “water beast” that had attacked a swimmer in the River Ness.

  2. 8th century

    1. 793 Historical sky phenomena · Disputed Fiery Dragons over Northumbria Lindisfarne and the Kingdom of Northumbria, northeast England The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded “fiery dragons” flying over Northumbria in 793, shortly before Vikings sacked the monastery at Lindisfarne.

  3. 16th century

    1. 1577 Beasts and predators · Disputed Black Shuck in the Churches of Bungay and Blythburgh Bungay and Blythburgh, Suffolk, England During a violent storm, a huge black dog reportedly burst into two Suffolk churches, killing worshippers – a pamphlet published the same year described the event.

  4. 17th century

    1. 1638 Ball lightning · Disputed The Great Thunderstorm at Widecombe-in-the-Moor St Pancras Church, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Dartmoor, Devon During a Sunday service in 1638, a ball of fire burst into a church on Dartmoor – four people were killed and dozens were injured.
    2. c. 1678 Crop circles · Disputed The Mowing-Devil of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire, England A 1678 English pamphlet tells of a field of oats mown in a single night by the Devil – it is sometimes considered the oldest account of a crop circle.

  5. 19th century

    1. 1808 Sea serpents and sea monsters · Explained The Stronsay Beast Stronsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland After a storm, the sea cast up on an Orkney shore a decaying carcass almost 17 meters long with three pairs of “legs” – Scottish naturalists declared it a sea serpent.
    2. 1837–1838 Strange humanoids · Disputed Spring-heeled Jack Haunts the London Suburbs Old Ford and Limehouse, East London, England A caped figure who breathed blue flames and leapt over walls attacked young women at night – even the Lord Mayor of London took up the case.
    3. 1859 Unusual sky phenomena · Explained Carrington Event Richard Carrington’s observatory in Redhill, Surrey (auroras worldwide) The most powerful geomagnetic storm on record: auroras were seen as far as the Caribbean, and sparks flew in telegraph offices.
    4. 1882 Historical sky phenomena · Explained The 1882 “Auroral Beam” over Greenwich Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London During a powerful magnetic storm in 1882, astronomers saw a greenish, spindle-shaped object cross the sky in two minutes.

  6. 1900–1909

    1. 1900 Disappearances and tragedies · Disputed Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery Eilean Mòr, Flannan Isles, Outer Hebrides In December 1900, the lighthouse on the Flannan Isles went dark, and the three keepers on duty there vanished without a trace.

  7. 1930–1939

    1. 1933 Lake and river monsters · Disputed Aldie Mackay's Loch Ness Sighting North shore of Loch Ness near Abriachan, Scotland A Drumnadrochit resident saw a huge, “whale-like” body in the loch – an article about it in the Inverness Courier launched the modern Nessie legend.
    2. 1934 Lake and river monsters · Hoax The Surgeon's Photograph Loch Ness near Invermoriston, Scotland The most famous Nessie photograph – a head and neck rising from the water – turned out to be a toy submarine fitted with a neck made of plastic wood.

  8. 1950–1959

    1. 1952 Military and radar sightings · Disputed Silver Disc over RAF Topcliffe during Exercise Mainbrace RAF Topcliffe, North Yorkshire During a major NATO exercise in 1952, RAF airmen in Yorkshire watched a silver disc that seemed to be following a Meteor jet fighter.
    2. 1956 Military and radar sightings · Disputed Lakenheath-Bentwaters Incident RAF Lakenheath and RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk In August 1956, radars at two bases in eastern England tracked fast-moving targets, and British Venom fighters were sent to intercept them.

  9. 1960–1969

    1. 1960 Lake and river monsters · Disputed Tim Dinsdale's Loch Ness Film Loch Ness near Foyers, Scotland An aeronautical engineer filmed a dark hump moving across the loch and leaving a wake – RAF reconnaissance analysts judged the object “probably animate.”
    2. 1969 Lake and river monsters · Unexplained Morag Collides with a Boat on Loch Morar Loch Morar, Highlands, Scotland Two men in a motorboat on Loch Morar claimed they had struck a large animal – one pushed it away with an oar, the other fired a rifle.

  10. 1970–1979

    1. 1976 Winged creatures · Disputed The Owlman of Mawnan Church Church of St. Mawnan and St. Stephen, Mawnan, Cornwall, England Two girls on vacation in Cornwall reportedly saw a large, feathered “bird-man” above a church tower – and so the Owlman legend was born.
    2. 1979 Close encounters with beings · Unexplained Robert Taylor Incident on Dechmont Law Dechmont Law near Livingston, West Lothian Scottish forester Robert Taylor claimed that in 1979 spherical objects attacked him in a clearing – the police opened an assault investigation.

  11. 1980–1989

    1. 1980 Close encounters with beings · Disputed Rendlesham Forest Incident Rendlesham Forest near RAF Woodbridge, Suffolk In December 1980, U.S. airmen from a base in England saw glowing objects in a forest over several nights – a case dubbed “Britain’s Roswell.”
    2. 1983 Beasts and predators · Disputed The Beast of Exmoor and the Marines on the Moor Near South Molton, Exmoor, Devon, England A Devon farmer lost more than a hundred sheep with torn throats in three months – the government sent Royal Marines sharpshooters onto the moors.

  12. 1990–1999

    1. 1990 Crop circles · Disputed Alton Barnes Pictogram East Field, Alton Barnes, Wiltshire In the summer of 1990, a huge pictogram of circles and bars appeared in wheat near Alton Barnes – the beginning of the era of complex formations.
    2. 1991 Crop circles · Hoax Doug and Dave Confess to Making Crop Circles Southampton, Hampshire In 1991 two men from Southampton revealed that since 1978 they had been making crop circles with a plank, rope, and a cap with a wire sighting device.
    3. 1993 Black triangles and boomerangs · Disputed Cosford Incident RAF Cosford, Shropshire On the night of March 31, 1993, dozens of people in western England, including RAF personnel, saw a huge triangular object gliding low over the ground.
    4. 1995 Beasts and predators · Disputed The Beast of Bodmin: Government Report and River Fowey Skull Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England The agriculture ministry found no evidence of big cats on Bodmin Moor – days later, a boy found a leopard skull in the River Fowey.
    5. 1996 Crop circles · Disputed Julia Set Crop Circle near Stonehenge Field by the A303 road opposite Stonehenge, Wiltshire In July 1996, a spiral of 151 circles appeared in broad daylight opposite Stonehenge – according to witnesses, in less than an hour.

  13. 2000–2009

    1. 2001 Crop circles · Disputed Milk Hill Galaxy Slope of Milk Hill near Alton Barnes, Wiltshire In August 2001, a gigantic spiral of 409 circles appeared on the slope of Milk Hill – one of the largest formations in history.
    2. 2001 Crop circles · Disputed Chilbolton “Arecibo Reply” Field next to Chilbolton Observatory, Hampshire In August 2001, a face and a reworked version of the Arecibo message sent into space in 1974 appeared in a field next to the Chilbolton radio telescope.

  14. 2010–2019

    1. 2018 Lake and river monsters · Disputed Loch Ness Environmental DNA Survey Loch Ness, Scotland Scientists collected water samples from across the loch and analyzed the DNA in them – they found no trace of reptiles, but a surprising amount of eel DNA.