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Adopt a Monument

Well of Poldhu

The Cromar History Group, with support from Cromar Community Council and members of the public, are working together to restore a Victorian tourist attraction to its former glory. These granite-lined mineral springs, known as the Wells of Poldhu (near Logie Coldstone, Abderdeenshire), were once a popular attraction, as the curative properties of the waters were widely believed. Poldhu enjoyed a wide reputation for treating ‘ailments of the day’ and local legend has it that the three springs each possessed individual properties; one for rheumatism, one for the eyes, and one for bodily health. The popularity of the Wells gradually waned, however, and in recent decades the site fell into neglect.

The group have adopted the Wells in order to clear, restore, and interpret them for the benefit of visitors. The project has secured funding from The Cairngorms National Park Authority and from Awards for All to restore the Victorian bridge and walkway at the site and, with help from the Heritage Paths project from Scotways, will install a waymarked route from nearby Logie Coldstone Village Rhodoendron and decades of leaf litter have been cleared from the site, and the contents of the silted-up wells were sievied for any finds (which yielded a ha'penny from 1932!). 

History of the Wells

The first sginificant mention of the wells is derived from the description of the Parish of Logie Coldstone in 1793 by the Reverend Robert Farquharson; 

‘There is a mineral spring in the Parish, a little to the south of the Church, called Poldow, which in the Gaelic signifies a ‘black pool’; the water of which, some years ago, was much and successfully used for scorbutic and gravelish disorders. Great crowds of the country people still resort to Poldow and drink of waters for all disorders.’

(History of Logie Coldstone and Braes of Cromar, John G Mitchie, 1896).

In the following year 1794, Blelack estate (on which lay the springs of 'Poldow') was in the process of being purchased by William Gordon, a native of Dundee. He had made his fortune as an inkeeper or Vintner and was known as the Vitner Laird. During the sale the owner Charles Gordon too the Vitner Laird around Blelack and, pausing at Poldow, Charles Gordon pointed out that here was a perfect mine of wealth;

"Why," he said, "you may see yellow gold shining in the very water. I assure you if I had the money to work it up, I would not part with it on any account,"

"That may be so" replied the potential buyer, "but all that I can see is a dirty black pool." 

When eventually the estate came into the hands of William Coltman of Deskry in 1869, records indicate a time of improvement to land and property andf it is likely that the wells were lined and capped and the site landscaped during his Lairdship. 

For local people the site remained an intriguing meeting place for generations until the severe gales of January 1953 covered the site beneath fallen timber. An occasional attempt was made by local resident Dr Innes to restore the site, but the wells lay neglected and abandoned for more than fifty years.

Local Recollections

Oral history research is ongoing to gather memories of the Wells in their heyday which will be used to inform a leaflet that tells the story of the site for visitors. Here are just a few…

“In 1928 when I was six years old my father was laying drains at Blelack, Sometimes he used to take me down on the back of his bicycle from Migvie, and we always stopped off at the Wells. He went into the estate from the Green Gate, which was at the main road where the chalets are. From there, the path cut across the heather to the back of the Wells. Before we drank from the wells, we had to wipe away the red film which floated on the surface of the water.”
James Birnie, Sunnybrae. Logie Coldstone.

“My parents had a box of old photographs and postcards and rummaging through I found these [postcards] taken at the Wells of Poldhu. I think they may be Victorian. As a youngster, I often went to the Wells and drank the waters.”
Alex Coutts, Farmer. Broadford Farm. Tarland.

“My father was working on the estate in the 1930’s and we regularly paused as the Wells for a drink. If the water in the Wells was kept flowing freely, it stayed very clear. The main way to Blelack House was down past the Wells, and the long drive which was sanded, was raked every second day. In those days the estate did not welcome visitors wandering down the drive past the Wells. I think the man in the photograph [above] was an estate gamekeeper who lived for a time at Tomullachie. I remember him cycling about, and on very hot days estate workers often stopped for a cool drink at the Wells. During the War, Albyn School for Girls (Aberdeen) leased Blelack House and some of the girls may have walked up the drive to drink at the Wells.”
Bob Esson, Retired Estate Worker. Logie Coldstone.

“When I was at Logie Coldstone Primary School [1950’s] we played in the Blelack Woods and on hot summer days, paddled in the Wells of Poldhu. The water was not deep and didn’t even reach my knees.’
Charles Smith, Garage Owner. Logie Coldstone.

Miss McConnach recalled how she and her sister would often meet their father, a day-man at Blelack. And sit on the rustic seats overlooking the Wells as he ate his ‘piece’ and drank water from the chain cups provided.’
Extract from The Logie Coldstone Book 1991.  (Logie Coldstone Primary School).