Where do you go for some reflection?
Where do you go when you need some time to just be? I’m so lucky to live in the countryside where I can take walks with my dog, and be mindful. I have a garden to sit in, and a yoga mat to become present on. Sometimes though I need a change of scene, and recently I had an unexpected extra day off. I just knew that a trip to Glastonbury was on the cards.
Not just my usual trip to pick up some supplies from a few of my favourite shops, but a visit to The Chalice Well. I’ve lived in Somerset all my life and I have never been to this amazing place. I don’t know what made me decide to go, I just woke up and knew!
The Chalice Well and Gardens are a Living Sanctuary where you find your soul soothed and spirits lifted. It is one of the best known holy wells in the country, found in a vale between Chalice Hill and the Tor. You will find the entrance on a main road, but once you enter, it’s a different world. A complete feeling of calm. As I walked along the paths, there was a very slight breeze that moved the blossom in the trees. The first thing you hear is the cascading water moving through in to the Vesica Pool.
There we very few people there when I arrived, but it was a Monday morning. In fact, there were probably more gardeners quietly tidying the stunning borders, than there were visitors.
I found it!
I wandered up to the Well Head, and felt what everyone talks about. So peaceful. Hidden away at the top of the gardens in a space where you can sit and just listen. The cover features a wrought iron Vesica Piscis with a lance through the middle. An ancient symbol signifying a scared union of heaven and earth or spirit and matter.
A very special place indeed.
Now that’s a tulip!
Moving towards the Lions Head where you can taste the scared waters, I saw beautiful tulips, and emerging bluebells. It really was an explosion of spring. Peonies poking through the soil and being trained into their supporting cages, and blossom hanging heavy in the trees above.
Nesting boxes, bug hotels on the fences, and the most vibrant colours of spring bulbs. Oh those tulips! A real treat for the senses everywhere you look.
If you were a gardener what an amazing place to work.
Manicured, but free flowing paths
Crab Apple blossom
When you reach the Lions Head there are two glasses inviting you to drink. This is the only place in the gardens where you can safely taste the waters. I felt the need to place some on my heart and throat chakras. Full of vitalising earth energy. I did what I needed to do.
Follow the rill and cascading pools, sit for a while under the trees and settle. Just be. Take as long as you like.
I wasn’t there long, just long enough.
When the time is right, you may find also this space.
The Chalice Well is ten minutes walk from Glastonbury High Street. Open every day except the first Saturday in June – which is Companions Day.
