The Ancient Healing Well of Scotlandwell

Natural Spring Believed To Have Healing Powers, Loch Leven, Scotland

Oct 6, 2009

The healing well of Scotlandwell near Loch Leven in Scotland has attracted people seeking a cure for a variety of illnesses for at least the last 2,000 years.

Bubbling up like simmering porridge through the sandy soil of the area, the clear water of the healing well at Scotlandwell still flows freely today, and is easily visited.

Location of the Healing Well of Scotlandwell

The village of Scotlandwell is part of the parish of Portmoak in Perth and Kinross. It lies under the beautiful and striking Lomond Hills to the east of Loch Leven, six miles from Kinross and the main M90(A90) motorway between Edinburgh and Perth.

From Kinross, the A922 leads to the A911 and then on to Scotlandwell. The well itself can be found down a cobbled lane off the main street of the village.

Origins of the Healing Well

According to the 1848 Topographical, Statistical, And Historical Gazetteer of Scotland, A. Fullarton And Co, Edinburgh; London; and Dublin (sic), the village of Scotlandwell acquired this name only in the times of Oliver Cromwell.

However, the Gazetteer also states that there was a hospital or hospice here at least from the middle of the 1200s, when the village and the well were known by their Latin name of Fons Scotia.Several hundred years before that, there was a religious house here belonging to the Culdees, the monks of the early Celtic church.

Did Roman Soldiers Drink from the Healing Well?

There is a strongly held local tradition that they did, taking the history of the well back 2,000 years.

A Mediaeval Hospital

By 1250 the Red Friars or Trinitarians were in charge at Scotlandwell, having been granted a charter to run a hospital or hospice by William Malvoisin, then Bishop of St Andrew's.

The Red Friars gave succour to the poor and treated the sick with herbal remedies and the waters of the well.

Belief That the Waters of Scotlandwell Could Cure Leprosy

Another strongly held local tradition is that one of the Red Friars' most famous patients was Scotland's Hero King, Robert the Bruce. According to this story, the king was successfully cured of leprosy by the waters of the healing well and the ministrations of the Red Friars.

Improvements to the Well at Scotlandwell in the 19th Century

The natural springs of the healing well bubble up today into an ornamental stone fountain and open-sided small wooden building constructed around it in Victorian times.

As explained by Kinross Museum on their website, this was part of improvements to the village commissioned by the local laird of the time, when the area around the well had become a quagmire. The architect commissioned to do the work was David Bryce of Edinburgh (1803-76). Bryce designed much grander buildings too, including Fettes College and the old Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.

The Well at Scotlandwell Today

Although the water of the spring bubbles up through sand, it runs crystal clear once it reaches the surface and there is a cup provided for any visitor with a mind to take the waters.

Situated in an attractive little garden in this picturesque village under the Lomond Hills and close to the lovely Loch Leven, the healing well of Scotlandwell is well worth a visit.

The copyright of the article The Ancient Healing Well of Scotlandwell in Scotland Travel is owned by Maggie Craig. Permission to republish The Ancient Healing Well of Scotlandwell in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.