Not the one Well . . .

. . . but two other Wells.

This morning we met up with marpaul and Misty at Waverbridge, near Wigton. The plan was to walk Watergate Lonning (one of the few lonnings to be marked on a map) and find the ‘Helly Well’ or Holy Well of St Cuthbert.
 
That was the plan!
 
However, the track was in a worse state than we even imagined. We knew it was used by tractors and knew that we had had several days of rain – it was very muddy indeed. That the ‘Well’ was actually a spring and almost certainly just ‘a trickle by a tree’ was also a deciding factor – we didn’t go. (I know freespiral would have gone, but . . . ) We will try again later in the year.
 
What we did was go to the next village Blencogo and walk along the road – much more sensible – to find another St Cuthbert Well.  This is it. The spot where the Well is supposed to have been is marked by an ornamental village pump. Unfortunately it is rather overgrown at the moment.
 
One of the villagers suggested we go to the next village, Bromfield, to see the church and another Well – St Mungo’s Well. So we did. And what a lovely old church this is – well worth another visit.
 
To the Well . . . or not! The Well we could see in the middle of a field behind the church – a very, very boggy field. Marian and I decided that we had ‘seen’ the Well, we did not need to go through the bog to get to it. (I know freespiral would have gone, but . . . ). The extra picture shows one intrepid member of our group who did go to the Well and proclaimed it an ‘actual well with water’. He got very wet feet! No he didn't go in the well - just through a bog. 
 
We then parted company with Marian and Misty and we went on to find an old railway line and station, another fortified church, an Abbey Church and Cuddy Lonning. Then we went home via tea and cake, having declined the Lent Lunch that we had been offered earlier.