Landlady Linda Birkett serves plenty of whisky and vodka at the Ancient Unicorn in Bowes, but she also enjoys fascinating encounters with the other type of spirit - ghosts.

She has often seen what she believes is the phantom of Martha Railton, a tragic young beauty who, as The Northern Echo reported this week, died there of a broken heart only three hours after the death of her lover, in 1714.

Ms Birkett, a level-headed type, tells me she has often come across other spooks in the large, rambling hostelry. One is a smiling old gentleman in natty bowler hat and waistcoat. Another is a rugged farm worker with long white hair and beard, wearing an old-style smock and with his trousers tied below the knees.

Guests staying there have complained at times about things going bump in the night. One heard merriment outside his room and opened the door to see a group of comically dressed people dancing down the stairs. Next morning he inquired about the midnight fancy dress party but was assured nobody had been around at the time.

A grandfather chair in the bar starts rocking when nobody is near. Bedroom furniture is moved around, and taps and lights are turned on and off. "I'm used to strange things happening," said Ms Birkett, who has been there eight years. "It doesn't frighten or worry me."

News about Davy, his strange pig and drunken wife has come in from a folklore enthusiast called Arnold.

He reports that the animal was a freak six-legged sow with a distorted face, and that Davy ran a cosy inn as well as a small farm behind it. He got extra trade from rubber-neckers who called for a drink purely for a chance to gaze at the creature. His large spouse served in the bar, frequently helping herself to generous splashes of gin.

However, adds our informant, Davy lived not in this part of the word but in Wales. Two miners who went to work in the Welsh pits brought back the tale of the tipsy wife being mistaken for the sleeping sow. They spread it around so that the saying "As drunk as Davy's pig" came into popular use for a while.

Arnold says: "There were lots of likely lads who worshipped ale, so the phrase could be applied fairly often."

Next year's Teesdale calendar has gone on sale, but some keen photographers are already looking for scenes for the 2005 version. It is a measure of how popular the project has become with amateurs snappers as well as buyers.

There was much interest this week in an excellent exhibition in the Castle Gallery showing the originals of 13 pictures used in the new publication, as well as some 70 others which were submitted but did not make the final list.

Manning the desk when I called in was Rose Pude, whose photograph of a rural track is on the October page, and whose husband, John, has a shot of the Pennine Way included. Mrs Pude said they and others have already taken photos for the 2005 calendar, for which the theme is to be dale settlements. "We like making an early start to take advantage of the sunny weather," she said.

The calendar, produced by Rosie Cross for Teesdale Council, is good value at £3.15. Early buyers have already begun posting it to friends and relatives around the world.

Who can remember drinking a cup of twist in their early years? A Gaunless Valley reader says this is another old custom that has gone out of use. He tells me twist was made of half tea and half coffee, usually without milk but sometimes with a spoonful of sugar, and was wonderfully refreshing.

It may have started because tea was hugely expensive and adding cheaper coffee could eke it out. The idea doesn't seem likely to catch on again.

* I'll be glad to see anyone who calls with snippets of news at The Northern Echo office at 36 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, on Mondays and Tuesdays, telephone (01833) 638628.