St. Anne’s Well

Martin
Martin Apr 16, 2002

St. Anne’s Well, Dowally
Wednesday 3/4/02
I left Aed, Kat and H up the hill whilst I ran the half mile or so down through the forest off the hill and into the back of the village of Dowally to check out this well and a nearby Two-Poster. From the 1:25000 map it looked like the well was immediately behind the craft centre at Dowally- so there I headed. the most unwelcoming craft centre in Scotland- ‘No’ this and ‘No’ that signs all over the place. Undeterred, I ventured in and the woman looked distinctly unimpressed before I had even said a word. I asked about the location of the well, which I explained that from the map it looked like it was directly behind the building we were currently standing in- ‘no- don’t know a thing about a well’ was the swift reply’. She even questioned as to how old the map was (bought it last week as it happens- revised only last year). She did, however, point me further up the hill in the direction of a cottage called ‘Anne’s Well’- I made a swift exit past the shelves of imported crap posing as local crafts. Headed up to the aforementioned cottage, but no reply. So- I tried at the last house before the hill. I was greeted by an extremely sweet old woman- a friendly soul at last! However, when I asked about the well she told me that it was no longer possible to visit- it had gone septic and overgrown and somehow disappeared into folk memory- indeed, her mother used to drink from the well. I bade farewell and on the way back down the hill I checked the map again- now I knew how many buildings were in eth area- the site of the well was definitely behind the craft centre. As I walked past again I peered round the back (I was being closely watched by the owners all the time)- just past the ‘Strictly Private’ sign I could see… a new rockery type garden. Fantastic.