A massive clean-up of the famous and historic Munlochy Clootie Well took place at the weekend.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) rangers joined up with local community groups to carry out a clear-up of the site on the Black Isle, north of Inverness.
The historic well has for centuries received offerings from visitors looking for healing or for prayers to be answered.
‘Fly tipping’ appearance of Black Isle holy well prompts community clean-up
But over the years, it has started to get cluttered with inappropriate items both for the setting of the well and the environment – prompting the clean-up.
Maree Morrison, for the FLS team in the area, said: “Munlochy’s Clootie Well has been a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years – possible since the 7th century.
“Visitors would leave a rag offering to the healing spirits and this would gradually deteriorate as the healing magic did its work.
“The well is still a very popular site today but many of the offerings left by visitors are not bio-degradable cotton or wool – plastics and polyesters won’t rot away so they won’t be much help.”
The community clean-up was organised after local resident Annette George visited the site and got a shock at its condition.
She said: “I’ve lived in the area for about 15 years and I’d noticed a steady decline in the site, but a recent visit to Clootie Well left me in tears.
“The branches of the surrounding trees were weighed down with clothes, shoes, electrical equipment and even a Venetian blind.
“It resembled a fly-tipping site rather than an ancient holy well.”
She added: “I felt compelled to contact Forestry and Land Scotland to let them know of my concerns.
“Amongst the jokey items people had also left sentimental messages and wish requests, so removing those cloots had to be done respectfully. That’s how the idea of a community volunteer clean-up came about.”
The purpose of FLS is to manage forests and land owned by the Scottish Government in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry, conserves and enhances the environment; and delivers benefits for people and nature.
