St Winefride's Well, Holywell

Excited by our visit to Hampston's, we headed for the most likely looking nearby site we could find on the crappy road atlas in the car. St Winefride's was the other end of the scale: a major pilgrimage site for centuries, it advertises itself as 'The Lourdes of Wales'. We paid a small fee and entered through the museum into the grounds of the well itself. There were a fair few pilgrims around, considering it was a wet Sunday afternoon, with children running around and people lighting candles in the chapel.

Official St Winefride's website

Listing on The Megalithic Portal

Hampston's Well, Burton

Nicola came up with the idea of visiting another well and suggested this one. I think the idea had been gestating for a while. We packed the kids and the ingredients for a picnic into the car and headed down the M56 towards the Wirral. With only one missed turning we managed to spot the tiny parking spot and buried columns with engraved signs on that mark the way to Hampston's Well. Pushing our way through the nettles, we came upon a flight of steps that led down to a square open area bounded by a heavily overgrown brick wall on two sides and a stream at the end (the other side was trees). The well was in here, though we had to confirm it with some research when we got home, as it was so heavily overgrown and muddy it didn't look like much at all. Despite this (and the rain), it was a great experience and a lovely, peaceful atmosphere.

[Photos courtesy of Tim @ www.historyandmystery.co.uk]

Hampston's Well on The Megalithic Portal