St. Bernard's Well

St. Bernard's Well, picturesque, tranquil, standing in a deep valley with green woodland stretching upwards on either side, the Water of Leith flowing timelessly beneath. Its legendary mineral waters have been sourced from here for centuries, wealthy holiday makers visiting Edinburgh to partake of the waters especially in the late 1700s and the 1800s when such things were deemed popular. Nobility and gentry took summer quarters in the Dean Valley, drinking from the well and taking in the country air. Various claims were made about its medicinal properties, many believing a cure for arthritis, backache and even total blindness could be found in the acrid water. Participants described the taste as having the "odious twang of hydrogen gas" or like the "washings from a foul gun barrel." One J. Taylor MD claimed in 1790 that the waters could cure "scorbutic cases, hysterics and hypochondriacs, joint complaints arising from congestion, scrophulous complaints, nephritic complaints and viscid glairy mucus, impotency and all the diseases of a lax
and weak fibre." Charming!
So how did all this begin? It is said that the well was named after St. Bernard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian Order. Badly received at court and suffering from sickness, he went to live in a cave nearby. Attracted to the mineral spring by the sound of visiting birds, he drank of the healing waters until his strength returned. And according to local legend - a wonderful thing, local legend - the spring was "rediscoverd" in 1760 by three lads from Heriot's Hospital who were fishing on the banks of the Water of Leith. That same year things really began to look up for the well. The spring was roofed over by its owner, the eccentric judge Lord Gardenstone. He spent two years overseas during the 1780s for health reasons - and then found a far better tonic at home. In 1789 he commissioned Alexander Naysmith to design a new pump-house for the spring. Inspired by the Temple of Sybil at Tivoli, the open rotunda was supported by ten tall Doric order columns. Within this "temple" was a statue of Hygeia, Greek goddess of health and hygiene, built of Coade stone, a type of ceramic which soon became damaged. It was later replaced by one of Craigleith sandstone. During Doors Open Days you can visit the interior of the pump-room, elaborately decorated with beige and terracotta mosaics on the floor and walls, and a beautiful domed ceiling speckled with golden stars and a golden radiating sun. A single coloured glass window, a small stove, and the white marble pump on which is carved "Bibendo Valebis" - by drinking you will become well - complete the picture.
So popular was St. Bernard's Well that Lord Gardenstone  employed a custodian, George Murdoch, to receive money, provide glasses and ensure the many regulations were observed. He was in attendance between 6.00am and 9.00am, the potency of the water considered to be at its strongest in the early morning. The well was extensively renovated in 1887 by William Nelson, its then owner, employing the services of fashionable decorative artist Thomas Bonnar. D. W. Stevenson carved a new statue of Hygeia, and the lower terrace was laid out. The Well was then gifted to Edinburgh City Council to be used by everyone. And it has recently undergone yet another much needed restoration.   
Today, as you walk along the Water of Leith towards St. Bernard's Well, there are occasions when you can still detect the dull metallic smell of the spring. But this is a pleasant spot, a charming spot, stunning on a bright summer's day. But many say the best time to visit is an hour after a torrential downpour. Rainwater from the Pentlands thunders through the channels under the Dean Bridge and the well is at its atmospheric best. As it is in the moonlight, after a fall of snow, standing tall against a deep blue sky, imprisoned by storm clouds ...... anytime, I guess. So serene, so beautiful, yet so deceptive. Taste the waters? Take a chance on their healing powers? No, I don't think so. Not me. Paracetamol does the job just fine.