St. Cubert’s Holy Sea Cave at Holywell Bay.
This is a magical place to visit and if you climb up to the top if the rock formation you can feel where the Holy Spring water enters the cave and drink from it.
The place is considered holy because of St. Cubert/Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, who in northern England, was a Medieval saint who died in 687.
The natural spring descends through the multi-coloured grotto from the back of the cave, and it is believed to have powerful healing properties. The actual Holy Spring that flows into the cave is on Trevornick Golf course which you can access.
lt’s written that in olden times mothers on Ascension Day brought their deformed or sickly children here, and dipped them in, at the same time passing them through the aperture connecting the two cisterns ; and so it is said, they became healed of their disease or deformity.
The rich deposits of minerals within it are to thank for the high calcium levels & can be credited for the vivid colours.
In 995 AD, a bishop visited from the Holy Island – this Bishops name was Alchun. He brought the body of Saint Cuthbert (c. 634 – 20 March 687) with him, whose relics (bones) were removed in the year 995 to prevent them from being stolen from Viking raiders. An oracle instructed them to return the relics to Durham.
While the escaping monks were trying to sail to Ireland, their boat blew off course and ended up in Cornwall. When they left, it was said that Cuthbert’s holy remains touched the waters of the cave, giving them magical powers.
Mabel Quiller-Couch wrote the first history of Cornwall’s holy wells in 1894. In it, she described Cubert’s sea cave holy well as being so popular in ancient times that “incredible numbers” travelled there from distant countries.
I had a drink from the water at the top & it was very ‘soft’; others have described it tasting of cereal bowl milk.
Parking: National Trust car park at the end of Holywell village (TR8 5PF; SW767586).
Sat Nav: Holywell TR8 5PF
You can go visit the Holy Spring on Trevornick Golf course where I’m pretty sure I saw St. Cubert!