Ungutted : )

Gutterby Spa Well

As the saying goes … if at first you don’t succeed…etc.

I had a feeling I was so close to where I should be yesterday that I felt I had to go back to check. I had a well hunter’s strategy planning session with myself last night and this morning, looking at maps, satellite views and searching for any references, which seem to be almost non-existent except for those below. 

I set off and decided to tackle my objective from a new direction this time and synchronised my approach for complete low tide. I walked confidently across country from Whitbeck until I caught my first glimpse of the sea. It was so vividly blue it took my breath away. I was reminded of how Dorothy Wordsworth burst into tears when she saw the sea for the first time along this coast. I wondered what it had meant for her. I was jolted out of my reverie when, in the distance, I spotted the first line of well hunter obstacles … coos (extra … can you see them? … loitering innocently…). As I approached they gathered round the gate … bloomin’ typical … they knew. Don’t let them smell your fear, I said to myself, and I went through the gate with a show of determined confidence. Don’t look them in the eye. I strode through and emerged unscathed.

When I got to the beach I looked up and down …  there wasn’t a soul to be seen for miles … just me, a holy well out there somewhere, and a strong heat shimmer … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmn9VwpbZ78

I scrutinised every bit of water and rocky outcrop, I scoured the most likely area between low and high water. I checked and rechecked the map. I invested every outflow with significance, until I realised it was just water still going out from the previous tide. It was so warm. I saw lush green seaweed patches and thought, that must be it. I slithered across to a post randomly embedded in amongst the greenery but it didn’t seem to be in any way indicative of anything special. I carried on oscillating between an increasing mix of desperation and ‘well, I’ve done my best and exhausted all the possibilities’. I kept occasionally tasting to see if there were any differences. I began to prepare myself for what felt like inevitable disappointment. I started to will an upsurging, oh well, alright then, a bit of bubbling, something, anything. Then, as I followed a little rivulet, I noticed a change. Suddenly my feet were freezing. There was no obvious visible difference but the water was so cold. As I lifted my feet up I noticed the slightest of mini eruptions (extra) all around. This was it! As I walked back again I approached the post from the other direction and saw the word ‘spa’ carved into it!
I have to say, it still seems weird to me. I can’t quite imagine how it worked, or even how they realised it was ever there in the first place! More spa well than holy but it seems to be recorded as holy. There’s a lot of very ancient settlements and monastic influences etc in this neck of the woods
Little did I realise how important feet are to the holy well hunters toolkit … all the senses engaged.

Mission accomplished, I sat and watched the tide coming in and swam … not bothering with accoutrements and then picked some sea kale buds to go with supper later.

I headed back to the cat and for a cuppa and then randomly headed up the Duddon to see if I could find craggy who was climbing with his mate, B, up from Manchester. I managed to find them too! We sat and had a drink at the Newfield Inn. I wonder if ceridwen’s ears were burning : )
Having not been foryears I’d forgotten how absolutely stunning the Duddon Valley is.

https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=36269473-0004-48f1-a53a-ea5db373ac78&resourceID=19191
(I can’t get this link to work …you still need to put Gutterby Spa in the search box)

At Gutterby there is a spa well, formerly much frequented as a sovereign remedy for scurvy and gravel. An analysis of the water gives the following results:- "A large quantity of chloride of sodium, also sulphate of soda, sulphate of lime, and carbonate of magnesia, and is somewhat similar to the saline spring at Cheltenham. When taken in quantity, the medicinal effect would be slightly purgative, and may have a tendency to prevent the formation of urinary calculi."