Holy wells & springs

51 places across Britain and Ireland

• Chalice WellGlastonbury, Somerset · A red-water spring said to hide the Holy Grail.
• Cuddy's WellBellingham, Northumberland · A well where St Cuthbert's body is said to have rested.
• Doon WellNear Kilmacrennan, County Donegal · A healing well near the rock where the O'Donnell chiefs were crowned.
• Dupath WellNear Callington, Cornwall · A granite well house, and a legend of a deadly duel.
• Ffynnon BeunoClynnog Fawr, Gwynedd · Sick children were bathed here, then laid overnight on the saint's tomb.
• Ffynnon DdyfnogLlanrhaeadr, Denbighshire · A healing bath whose pilgrims paid for a famous stained-glass window.
• Ffynnon ElianLlanelian-yn-Rhos, Conwy · The most feared cursing well in Wales.
• Ffynnon Fair, PenrhysPenrhys, Rhondda · A medieval shrine to the Virgin Mary on a mountain above the Rhondda.
• Ffynnon GwenfaenRhoscolyn, Anglesey · A clifftop well where visitors left two white pebbles to cure madness.
• Ffynnon GybiLlangybi, Gwynedd · A healing well where an eel decided whether you would get better.
• Isle MareeLoch Maree, Wester Ross · An island where coins were hammered into a sacred tree, visited by Queen Victoria.
• Madron WellNear Penzance, Cornwall · A woodland well hung with thousands of rags, each one a wish or a cure.
• Munlochy Clootie WellBlack Isle, Ross-shire · A hillside covered in thousands of rags, tied for luck and healing.
• Sancreed Holy WellNear Penzance, Cornwall · A spring down a flight of steps into the earth, hung with rags.
• St Aldhelm's WellDoulting, Somerset · Where a saint died, and the spring that flows from the village.
• St Ann's WellBuxton, Derbyshire · A warm spring visited by Romans and Mary, Queen of Scots.
• St Ann's WellGreat Malvern, Worcestershire · The spring that made Malvern water famous.
• St Anthony's WellHolyrood Park, Edinburgh · A well below a ruined chapel on the slopes of Arthur's Seat.
• St Augustine's WellCerne Abbas, Dorset · A quiet wishing well in the shadow of the Cerne Abbas Giant.
• St Brigid's WellKildare · A healing well of Ireland's beloved St Brigid.
• St Brigid's Well, LiscannorNear the Cliffs of Moher, County Clare · A well in a passage packed with offerings, rosaries and photos.
• St Clether Holy WellNear Launceston, Cornwall · A tiny chapel where the spring once flowed under the altar.
• St Declan's WellArdmore, County Waterford · The well of a saint said to have reached Ireland before St Patrick.
• St Dwynwen's WellLlanddwyn Island, Anglesey · The well of the Welsh patron saint of lovers, where a fish told your fortune.
• St Fillan's PoolStrathfillan, near Crianlarich · A pool where people were dipped to cure madness, then tied up overnight.
• St Fintan's TreeClonenagh, County Laois · A sacred tree hammered full of coins.
• St Gobnait's ShrineBallyvourney, County Cork · The shrine of a saint who drove off raiders with a swarm of bees.
• St Keyne's WellSt Keyne, near Liskeard, Cornwall · Whoever drinks first after the wedding will rule the marriage.
• St Mary's Clootie WellCulloden Woods, near Inverness · A woodland spring surrounded by thousands of rags.
• St Maughold's WellMaughold Head, Isle of Man · A well of a pirate who became a saint.
• St Nectan's GlenNear Tintagel, Cornwall · A waterfall that punches through a rock arch, said to be home to fairies.
• St Non's WellSt Davids, Pembrokeshire · A clifftop spring said to have appeared when Wales's patron saint was born.
• St Patrick's Well, ClonmelNear Clonmel, County Tipperary · A tranquil pool with a cross standing in the water.
• St Seiriol's WellPenmon, Anglesey · A saint's well beside a ruined priory and a huge dovecote.
• St Trillo's ChapelRhos-on-Sea, Conwy · One of the smallest chapels in Britain, built over a holy well on the beach.
• St Winefride's WellHolywell, Flintshire · The 'Lourdes of Wales', a place of pilgrimage for over 1,300 years.
• St Winifred's Well, WoolstonWoolston, near Oswestry, Shropshire · A timber cottage built over a holy well.
• St Wite's Well and ShrineWhitchurch Canonicorum, Dorset · The only parish church in England that still holds a saint's bones.
• Struell WellsNear Downpatrick, County Down · Holy bath houses linked to St Patrick.
• The Chalybeate SpringRoyal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · The iron-rich spring that created a whole town.
• The Holy Well, Holywell BayHolywell Bay, near Newquay, Cornwall · A holy well hidden in a sea cave, reached only at low tide.
• The HotwellsAvon Gorge, Bristol · A spa in the Avon Gorge that once rivalled Bath.
• The Lady's WellHolystone, Northumberland · A peaceful pool where 3,000 people were said to be baptised at Easter.
• The Roman Baths and Sulis MinervaBath, Somerset · A sacred hot spring, and 130 curses scratched on lead.
• The Royal Pump RoomHarrogate, North Yorkshire · The strongest sulphur well in Europe, once called the Stinking Spaw.
• The Springs of WellsBishop's Palace, Wells, Somerset · The springs that gave England's smallest city its name.
• The Treacle WellBinsey, Oxford · The holy well that inspired Lewis Carroll's 'treacle well'.
• The Upwey Wishing WellUpwey, near Weymouth, Dorset · The source of the River Wey, where George III is said to have drunk.
• The White SpringGlastonbury, Somerset · A candlelit temple of water opposite Chalice Well.
• Tissington Well DressingsTissington, Derbyshire · Wells decorated with pictures made of flower petals.
• Tobernalt Holy WellNear Sligo · A woodland well and mass rock used in secret during the Penal Laws.