Gilsland Spa Well

My head was a bit mired so I decided to go on a small adventure. It was rather more curious in ways I hadn’t expected. It’s a well and an area I’ve had my eye on for a long time but I felt it wasn’t up there on the ‘holy’ front so I haven’t beaten a path to it until now. It was a spa/healing well and became fashionable with its grand hotel and picturesque walks. I do wonder if it had a much earlier significance and there are other springs, chalybeates and another holy well marked near by. Hopefully I can go back and do a bit more ferreting around.

Today though it all became a bit bizarre when I drove past a very derelict looking grand house and then was blocked from going further by a chap masked up and in hi-vis. He told me it was now an isolation hotel for red list arrivals. He said I could still park up off the grounds though. I did that and watched another five security people patrolling the grounds. It all felt a bit sinister. I headed down to the river Irthing and was soon hit by the smell of sulphur. I had a little sip from the white encrusted bowl of the well and then walked on to find the Popping Stone where Walter Scott is supposed to have popped the question. The whole area was a bit mashed up from tree felling activity and the route on soon evaporated so I scrambled up the steep slopes but was soon a bit lost so I dropped/slithered back Tarzan style from tree to tree. It felt like quite a work out but I also found some Hedgehog fungi for supper ... I wasn’t sure if it was the Depressed Hedgehog or not. I think not but rather fancied finding a Depressed Hedgehog.

Home and a catch up with my neighbour through the hedge at the back and a wonderful bag of pears and apples from her garden.

More details of the well here ...

https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=52252

... and the Popping Stone

https://web.archive.org/web/20080120222322/http://www.laverocks.co.uk/poppingstone/poppingstone.htm