'the well of life'

This Holy Well is rather special - for several reasons.
 
It is apparently one of the few remaining Chapel Wells in the country, i.e. the church was actually built over the running water, which runs under the floor of the church to the well. The well is alongside the wall of the church (the extra picture shows this). You can see the water bubbling up at the floor of the well, emerging from the church. A now rare example of a dipping cup, chained to the carved stone alcove, can be lowered to bring the water to sip or to bless oneself (or one's companions). (No, he did not do either!) There is a flight of stone steps down to the well itself.
 
This is Kirkoswald Church in the village of the same name, 8 miles from Penrith. And it is the name that interested me. As the plaque above the well indicates, the church and the well are dedicated to St Oswald, who was king of Northumbria from AD 634 to 642. I am currently reading a book by Max Adams - The King of the North - which tells in great detail the story of this extraordinary man. There will be more of him later. Suffice here to say that he toured the north of the country with St Aidan and, as the first church on this spot was built in the 7th Century, it is highly likely that he visited here and dedicated the church and the well himself.
 
And
The church has the most delightful approach - a long, curving, flagged path through trees with a carpet of snowdrops on both sides (and lots of daffodils just appearing). This is known as the Priests' Walk because many years ago there was a college across the road, which accommodated a community of parish priests. This was much more pleasant than the extremely muddy track we were on yesterday!
   
The church appears to have no bell tower, but it has. It is not on the church, but is on the top of an adjacent hill. The reason being that the village is a distance away but, from the hill, the bell could be heard, both warning of Scots approaching and summoning the folk to church.