Watery Hey & Whitworth Wells, Hayfield, Derbyshire

Having arranged to meet an esteemed relative in the region of the beautiful Peak District town of Hayfield, we were pleased to discover that you could barely chuck a brick in the area without it falling into a well of some kind.
First up was Watery Hey, which was located in town down by the banks of the River Sett. We followed the Kinder Road uphill for a bit and then turned down the steeply sloping Spring Vale Road, which led to a narrow bridge over the Sett. On the other side was the stone surround of Watery Hey Well. It's usually dressed in July, but we missed that unfortunately. However, it was very conveniently placed for the children's play area where we sat down for a picnic lunch and the boys went wild in the sandpit.

Note holy crisp packet to the right of the picture.

After lunch, we followed the road along the river, heading upstream towards Whitworth Well. We crossed back across the river a bit early and ended up forging up the hill following a steep, narrow path which took us up to Kinder Road. This didn't take us out of our way though, as our directions mentioned steps done from the road opposite The Sportsman Inn - which we duly followed. First we crossed the wooden bridge to the south side of the river for a wider view of the well on the opposite bank:

View from the bridge, well on right bank

Well viewed from the south bank

 Then we crossed back and followed the rough path right up to the spring and well itself.

Water flowing down into the stone well

The overgrown pool which feeds the well

 We followed the river up as far as Bowden Bridge, then it was time to head back down the road and stop off for a drink in the peaceful beer garden of The Sportsman. Heading back to town, an eagle-eyed member of our party spotted this:

Watery Hey on The Megalithic Portal

Whitworth Well on The Megalithic Portal

Horncliffe Well, Bingley Moor

Fine weather (not too hot, not too wet) and a spare Friday inspired the whole family to head for the hills. The moors between Shipley, Keighley and Ilkley (collectively known as Rombald's Moor) are rich with archaeological remains and neolithic art - previous destination Rivock Edge is in the area - and today we planned to visit Horncliffe Well, just up the hill from the Otley Road on the border of Bingley Moor and Hawksworth Moor. It wasn't too hard to catch the turning from the A650 in Bingley up through the fantastically-named village of Higher Eldwick to the moor. The start of the footpath had a convenient (if narrow) parking space on the verge, so we stopped here and unpacked our supplies for the climb ahead. The moor was stunningly beautiful and we had hardly started upwards when we surprised a couple of grouse bobbing along the path. Away from the road, the hillside was cool and peaceful (apart from the occasional jet flying over from Bradford International) and the views were stunning. On the horizon, we could see Emley Moor to the south and Ferrybridge C Power Station (a personal inspiration) to the south-east. The path was clear and we could see the boundary wall approaching to meet it from the east, where we knew we would find the well.
We reached the gap in the wall and found the well clearly marked in general -

 

- but not see clear to find in reality. Following the sound of running water, and poking around a bit in the thick grass and undergrowth, we found a drain cover over flowing water:

The water then emerged through another drainpipe and then ran under the wall and off down the hill.

Judging by the photo from 2005 on The Megalithic Portal listing, some work has been done to channel the flow of water here.
Flushed with success, we attempted to climb further up the hill and find the Twelve Apostles stone circle, but tiredness got the better of us and we made a leisurely return down the path, enjoying the view and occasionally laying in the heather for a rest.

St Helen's Well, Eshton

It was a bright, cold April day. A day of missed turnings. We eventually managed to navigate the car up the one-track Winterburn Lane and pulled in to a stopping place just after the bridge over Eshton Beck. The map was a little ambiguous, so we aimed for a likely looking stand of trees on the east side of the road near the beck. We followed the footpath along the bottom of the hill, below the Giants' Graves, and the boys enjoyed leaping into the deep patches of snow still dotted around in the fields, but our search proved luckless. Returning along the same footpath, we admired the many windows of Friar's Head and then headed back to the bridge and the trusty Volvo. Not wanting to give up, we walked a  little further up the road - spotting some kind of water-pumping facility. At that point I noticed a drain that seemed to have an unusual amount of water flowing through it. I followed the road uphill a little further and found water issuing from under a mossy stone wall. A quick look over the wall confirmed it - here was St Helen's Well. We had driven straight past it, missing the tiny oval plaque on the wall.

The well consists of one pool which is constantly bubbling with fresh water rising up from below, and a second pool separated from the first by the mysterious stonework (missing the secret heads now, sadly). This pool then drains out under the surrounding wall and down the roadside until the stream enters the beck right by the bridge.

St Helen's Well on The Megalithic Portal