Hindwell Pool

  • SO257606
  • Disputed
Nearest town:
Kington (6km ESE)
OS reference:
SO257606
OS sheets:
137, 148
Latitude:
52° 14' 17.19 N
Longitude:
3° 5' 17.51 W

Images

Articles

Hindwell Pool

C
CARL Apr 11, 2016

A view from the road 4.4.16

We approached the pool from the south and it is easy enough to see from the road. In fact you would be hard pushed to miss it. It is very large – bigger than I expected. Despite the drizzle the pool was very calm (unlike the children in the car!). No sign of any ducks or swans. Perhaps it is too early in the year?

Nice place.

Hindwell Pool

D
drbob May 7, 2006

We visited Hindwell Pool in May 2005. The pool is easy to find as it’s next to Hindwell Farm which is very obvious (from the north at least, it might be trickier to spot if you’re coming from the main road to the south). There are various places on the road where you can park for a few minutes or alternatively I believe there’s a footpath from The Four Stones if you fancy a stroll.

We decided not to ask at the farm about access as you can see through to the pool from the roadside. It’s gorgeous – bigger than I was expecting, almost completely surrounded by trees with swans gliding across it. Well worth a brief visit if you happen to be in the area.

So is it an antiquity? My understanding is that it’s a natural pool fed by a spring and would have been in existence when the area was surrounded by the largest palisaded enclosure found so far in the British Isles. If that’s the case, it’s difficult to imagine that it wasn’t at least involved in whatever rituals were taking place, if not at the very centre of them.

Folklore

Hindwell Pool
D
drbob May 7, 2006

The Four Stones are famously reputed to make the half mile journey to Hindwell Pool to quench their thirst at midnight (sometimes midnight on the full moon) returning home before dawn.

One of the many other legends about the Four Stones is that they are four princes turned to stone by a witch. The witch herself is said to be entombed in stone at Hindwell Pool.

Sites within 20km of Hindwell Pool

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