A FEW spirited rounds of golf may have been played at Vale Royal Abbey golf course but now there is a chilling suspicion that spirits of another sort may be abroad at the Whitegate club.

There are fears the club could be haunted - not by ghoul golfers but by the almost forgotten legend of the ghost of Medieval nun Ida Godman.

The course is built on the ruins of an 800-year-old Cistercian Monastery where Ida was buried in return for caring for an abbot.

Two ghost busters from Winsford, who do not wish to be named, took a picture of the building when it was first being renovated.

"We didn't see anything odd at the time but when we got the film developed we could make out a face in the window to the first floor room known as the library," said the girl who took the snap.

"We had it blown up and loads of people reckoned they could see a face either surrounded by dark hair or a cowl."

Club house manageress Carol Boyle said the picture brought back some chilling memories.

"I feel a chill myself whenever I go into the library. I can honestly say I've felt a presence," she said.

"I have spoken to people who report seeing the figure of a woman dressed in a nun's habit, gliding across the runs of the abbey or standing by the window in the library.

"Staff have also told me they they've been spooked when laying tables in the great hall and in the library - they get the feeling someone's standing over them.

"There are lots of conflicting stories about Ida Godman, but whatever the truth of the story, the Great House and the abbey ruins are steeped in history and legend. Ghostly stories abound."

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