Bayard's Leap
A cave in a wood in Ancaster Heath was once inhabited by a witch. She terrorised the local people into giving her whatever she demanded. One family who refused her suffered from a stillborn child. Finally the people decided to do her in.
A local shepherd knew her better than anyone, so he was chosen to be the one to kill her. He was to invite her up onto a horse, then stab her in the breast, and throw her into a pond. He chose between two farm horses by leading them to the pond to drink. He then threw a stone in the water. He used Bayard, the horse that raised its head first. Mounting up, he rode to the witch's cave and called out to her to come and ride with him. She cried back "Wait 'till I've buckled my shoes and suckled the cubs, and I'll be with you."
Eventually the crone emerged and scrambled up onto the horse. He at once plunged his knife into her breast. The old hag, in her agony, clutched at the horse's back with the long sharp nails of her fingers. The horse in alarm made one wild, sudden bound, which landed him full sixty feet from the spot. The witch fell back into the pond, and was drowned; and so her career was ended. Bayard’s horse shoes left imprints next to the pond and a local farm was named `Bayard’s Leap` after the story.
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