I got wet . . .

. . . very wet, taking this photo. The forecast said heavy rain for Glenridding, but we took a chance as we were in the area, and . . . guess what . . . there was heavy rain!

 
St Patrick's Well, Patterdale
Right at the edge of a busy road, extremely busy at holiday time as it runs from Patterdale to Glenridding along the shores of Ullswater, this rather lovely well and its spring have been used for healing purposes for a very long time. Apparently there was once a small chapel close by.
 
Whether St Patrick ever actually visited the area is not known, although he did spend time preaching and setting up churches in the north of England. It is believed that the name Patterdale came from 'Patrick's dale', just as the name Aspatria in West Cumbria, a place where there is another well, is supposed to have come from 'Patrick's Ash'. Legend has it that, when preaching, St Patrick drove his staff into the ground and it budded.
 
Glenridding is in a very sorry state at the moment after the horrendous floods. The amount of debris, stones and silt everywhere is awful and to see the number of old houses and buildings being gutted is very sad.