One of the joys of popping back “home” to Cornwall is revisiting some of the quirky and mystical places I took for granted as a child and teen.
Madron wishing well is down a muddy path lined with hawthorn and blackthorn and is close to the village of Madron, near Penzance. For as long as I can remember it’s been known as a magical place of healing. You’ll still find strips of cloth (known as clouties) tied to the surrounding branches as tokens of homage and well wishes for sick relatives and friends.
The well head is a rough circle of granite slabs that were relaid in the 1980s. Up until the 20th century there was also a large granite trough there, which has unfortunately disappeared.
Sick people used to travel many miles to come to the well, often in May to coincide with Beltane. They would enter the water three times, naked, walk around the well clockwise and then rest on the nearby hillock called St Maderne’s bed. A piece of clothing would be tied to a nearby bush and it was believed that as the cloth rotted away – the ailment would disappear. I used a version of this process to cure a pet rat in my Middle-grade mystery “The Jewelled Jaguar”.
In modern times it’s been said that it is the high radiation levels in the well that creates its restorative powers.
Nonsense. We know it’s pure magic. 😁
