The peat-fire flame : folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands & Islands

The Wells of Skye.
well lore
In a large island like Skye there are scores of wells, many
of which have their own legendry. On the ancient beliefs
connected with the wells of the Island of Skye alone a whole
volume might be written.
When Martin Martin visited Loch Slant, in Skye, he
found that the most celebrated well in the island was
believed by the natives to be a specific against all distempers.
The inhabitants, he tells us, obliged themselves by a vow to
go to the well, and " make the ordinary tour round it, called
dessil, which is performed thus : They move thrice round the
well, proceeding sunways from east to west, and so on.
This is done after drinking of the water; and when one
goes away from the well, it is a never-failing custom to leave
some small offering on the stone which covers the well."
Pilgrimages to this well were made till within
comparatively recent times. After a little ceremony had
been observed, an offering was left for the Spirit of the
Well. A neighbouring loch and stream abounded with trout
and salmon; but no one would touch them, since they
regarded them as sacred fishes.
Well of the Trout.
Near by was another well esteemed by the people of Skye
because its water was reputed to remove all diseases
instantly. The water of this well was considered to be the
lightest and " wholesomest " in all the Island. We are told
that in time of war and scarcity the inhabitants were able
to subsist for many weeks by drinking the water of this well
along with fronds of dulse.
Then, in the south of Skye is the sacred well called by a
Gaelic name meaning the Well of the Trout. Centuries ago
it contained a solitary trout, which the islanders were
exceedingly careful not to injure in any way. Though they
often caught the trout in their pails by mistake, they never
failed to replace it with extreme care.
Up from Glen Elg there is a well called Tohar Bhan, or
the White Well, from which a burn fiows. In olden times
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