The Clootie Well of Munlochy: Sacred Rags, Forest Paths, and Ancient Magic.
Tucked away in the wooded heart of the Black Isle, just off the A832 west of Munlochy village, lies a strange and wonderful sight—the Clootie Well, a forest glade festooned with hanging cloth, dolls, socks, ribbons, and even the odd bit of underwear. This sacred site is one of the last and best-known remnants of an ancient Celtic healing tradition, a practice that long predates Christianity and continues to draw visitors seeking healing, protection, and connection to the past.
The Where
You’ll find the well in a small forested area about half a mile west of Munlochy, a village straddling the B9161 on the Black Isle — the fertile peninsula lying north of Inverness, bounded by the Moray and Cromarty Firths. There’s a car park just off the A832 provided by Forestry land Scotland. From there, it’s a short woodland walk over up a gentle slope. The path leads through rows of pine and birch, up some steep steps, before descending into an beautiful grove where the trees drip with offerings.
The How
The tradition of the clootie (or “cloot”) well is simple, but powerful. Pilgrims — historically hoping for healing or blessings — bring a piece of cloth, usually something that has touched the body of the sick person, ideally belonging to them. Which they then dip into the sacred water.
The idea is this: as the cloth slowly rots away, so too will the illness or affliction. It’s a form of sympathetic magic, rooted in nature, spirit, and intention. And if the cloot doesn’t decay — say today, because it’s polyester or plastic — the magic doesn’t work.
Ancient Wells and Pagan Worship
The veneration of wells and springs predates Christianity, stretching back into the time when water was seen as a conduit to the Otherworld. Celtic and pre-Celtic peoples believed wells were places wherSt Boniface and the Munlochy Welle gods, spirits, or fairies could be communed with. Offerings—coins, food, or personal objects—were left in the water or nearby, in the hope of gaining favour, protection, or healing.
Even after Christianity spread, these traditions remained deeply ingrained in local culture. Rather than ban them outright, the early Church Christianised many of these sites, associating them with saints rather than spirits. This strategy helped the Church gain converts while allowing people to maintain long-held customs.
St Boniface and the Munlochy Well
Munloch Clootie well is one adopted by the Church, repurposed, becoming a ‘consecrating well’. Here the Clootie Well became associated with St Curetán (Boniface), a key figure in early Pictish Christianity.
Who Was St Curetán (Boniface)?
St Curetán, also called Boniface, was a Scoto-Pictish bishop and saint who flourished between 690 and 710 AD. His name appears as a witness in the Cáin Adomnáin, a law promoting the protection of women and children in warfare, signed in 697.
He was likely the Bishop of Ross, with his seat at Rosemarkie, and played a major role in bringing the Pictish Church in line with Roman Christian practices, particularly regarding the dating of Easter. His influence stretched across Glen Urquhart, Strathglass, Glen Glass, Loch Ness, and the Cromarty Firth, where several places bear his name.
Munlochy was already sacred long before Christianity, and St Boniface’s association with it was an attempt to blend the old traditions with the new faith.
Not all Sacred Wells were renamed after Saints
The General’s Well on Bught Road, Inverness, sits on the west bank of the River Ness, just south of the suspension bridge to the Ness Islands. While its exact origins remain uncertain, some believe it once held significance for early Christians, possibly as a sacred well. The more recent name likely comes from General MacIntyre, who resided at Bught House in the early 19th century.
The Healing Ritual of the Clootie Well
For centuries, those seeking healing would visit Sacred Wells and follow a sacred ritual. Here are some examples of the practices.
- Circle the well three times, always sunwise (deiseal). This reflects an ancient Celtic belief in the power of moving in harmony with the sun.
- Dip a piece of cloth (“cloot”) in the well’s waters. The cloth must belong to the person who is ill.
- Tie the cloot to a nearby tree while offering a prayer. As the fabric rots, the sickness or misfortune is believed to fade away.
This practice is not unique to Munlochy. Other Clootie Wells exist across Scotland, including one near Culloden Battlefield (St Mary’s). Healing wells in Scotland often had specific customs, such as:
- Drinking water from a suicide’s skull (Tobar a’Chinn, Wester Ross)
- Towing the sick around an island after drinking from the well (Loch Maree)
- Bathing after sunset and before sunrise, then being bound to a chapel stone overnight (Strath Fillan)
- Leaving the well before sunrise, unseen by others, to complete the ritual (Farr, Sutherland)
These traditions, while strange to modern minds, reveal a deep-rooted belief in the power of water, liminality, and ritual healing.
Illegal practice of visiting a Clootie Well
Such wells once dotted the landscape of Scotland, Isle of Man and Ireland — places where people came for healing, guidance, or fertility. With the rise of Christianity, the Church didn’t ban these customs outright. Instead, it co-opted them.
Saints were matched to sacred wells, and pagan practices became part of Christian pilgrimages.
But over time — especially after the Reformation in 1560 — the Church turned against these folk customs. In 1581, an Act of Parliament made pilgrimages to holy wells illegal in Scotland. Still, people continued to visit them, often quietly and stubbornly, well into the 18th century and beyond. In 1769, Welsh traveller Thomas Pennant noted seeing such sites “tapestried about with rags.”
The Now
Today, the Munlochy Clootie Well attracts a wide mix of visitors — from folklore fans and modern pagans to curious tourists and hopeful healers. It’s especially popular around Beltane (1st May), a Celtic fire festival marking the start of summer, a time traditionally associated with renewal and fertility.
But the well is not without its issues.
In recent years, many offerings have shifted away from biodegradable cloth to synthetic items — polyester scarves, plastic dolls, even bits of carpet. Some have gone so far as to nail things to trees. These practices not only damage the woodland but undermine the whole point of the ritual: if the cloot doesn’t decay, neither does the illness.
If you visit, be mindful. Use natural fibres — cotton, wool, linen. Bring something personal, meaningful. Let the forest stay wild and the magic do its work.
Final Thoughts
The Munlochy Clootie Well is more than just a quirky roadside attraction. It is a place where Scotland’s pre-Christian and Christian traditions intertwine, where hope and healing have been sought for generations.
To visit is to step into a space where history, faith, and folklore meet—a liminal place, where the past whispers through the trees and the sacred waters still flow.
If you go, go with respect. Honour the old ways without harming the land. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll feel the presence of something ancient, watching, listening, and waiting to answer.
More Wee Wild Adventures in Scotland.
The Clootie Well of Munlochy: Sacred Rags, Forest Paths, and Ancient Magic