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Holy well

St Mary's Clootie Well

Culloden Woods, near Inverness

A woodland spring surrounded by thousands of rags.

In the woods near Culloden, a spring is surrounded by trees hung with thousands of rags and pieces of clothing. Visitors traditionally come on the first Sunday in May, drop a coin in the water, drink, and tie a cloth to a tree to leave their troubles behind.

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When
Ancient
Where
57.4800, -4.1300
Group
Holy wells & springs

Visiting

A short walk from a car park in Culloden Woods. Please use natural fabrics.

Cover of The Ledger of Lost Britain by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

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.

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