Suddenly there’s clothing hanging in the forest. The trees are wrapped in colourful rags – wherever you look. And at the centre of this collection of rags, a spring rises out of a hillside. This is the Clootie Well on the Black Isle.
This belief reaches far back into Celtic times: if you dip a piece of clothing into a holy well and hang it on a tree, it’s said to heal illness. The pagan custom even survived Christianisation – even when it was banned for a while, rags were still hanging at the Clootie Well near Munlochy.
Today you’ll still find all sorts of clothing there, some of it decoratively arranged: Scottish flags, Superman shirts, banners or Bart Simpson T-shirts – or the rather pitiable teddy bear seen in the picture. These days it’s modern medicine that mostly deals with illness. So these rags are more often hung up by lovers or wedding couples – as a blessing for the future.
I can barely describe the atmosphere around this very small well. It’s uniquely colourful! And when the wind moves the rags, it makes a sound all of its own. Look more closely, though, and you’ll spot mould and damp stains on the fabric. That’s rather less fascinating, and more on the gross side.
Still, if you’re in the Inverness area, a stopover here is well worth it.
Tip: Doing the ritual correctly
Anyone who wants to perform the ritual correctly walks three times clockwise around the well, sprinkles a little of the spring water on the ground and says a prayer while doing so. Then you hang up the piece of clothing belonging to the person you wish good fortune.
Good to know: A tradition not just in Scotland
Clootie Well actually translates to nothing more exotic than “rag well”.
The tradition of hanging rags at a holy place isn’t unique to Scotland, by the way. Cornwall, for example, knows the custom too. And while the Irish don’t have wells for it, they do at least have rag bushes or rag trees.
The authorities are somewhat less taken with this very lively tradition. Because of synthetic fibres, modern clothing barely rots away. So the well has to be cleared out at regular intervals to stop pollution getting out of hand. Last time, our exasperated host told us, they even pulled a bicycle out of the trees there.
Personal note: Further into the forest
It’s certainly a special place, no question. That said, we actually preferred the nature south of the car park. A small circular path leads off from there too. You can cross streams on wooden bridges and simply enjoy the forest.
Getting there:
From Inverness, take the A9 heading north, crossing the Kessock Bridge as you go. After about eight kilometres there’s a roundabout – go almost all the way round it before leaving towards Fortrose on the A832. A further 4 kilometres on, there’s an entrance to a car park in the woods on the right. Watch out, don’t miss it! If you reach Munlochy, you’ve already gone past it.
From the car park, follow the path running parallel to the road towards Munlochy. The rags start appearing before long.