St Anthony's Well
Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
Below the ruins of St Anthony's Chapel in Holyrood Park is a small well, once believed to be holy. Edinburgh tradition said that washing your face in its water at dawn on May Day would make you beautiful.
Read the full story, see it on the map, get directions and find what else is nearby in the free Hidden Britain Atlas map.
- When
- Medieval
- Where
- 55.9500, -3.1650
- Group
- Holy wells & springs
Visiting
Holyrood Park is free to walk, below Arthur's Seat.

The Ledger of Lost Britain
The Romans arrived in AD 43. For most people that is where the history of Britain begins. But by the time the legions landed, people had already been living on these islands for thousands of years. They had hunted, farmed, mined flint, dragged stones across the country, raised a hill by hand, and buried their dead in great tombs. They left no written words. What they left was the ground itself. Every place in this book can be visited, or has been dug up, or is in a museum.
Nearby mysteries
- The Murder of David RizzioPlot · Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh · under a mile away
- The Arthur's Seat CoffinsUnexplained · Edinburgh · under a mile away
- The Edinburgh VaultsHaunted place · South Bridge, Edinburgh · under a mile away
- Kirk o' FieldPlot · Old College, Edinburgh · under a mile away
- The MaidenExecution site · National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh · under a mile away
- Mary King's CloseHaunted place · Royal Mile, Edinburgh · under a mile away