From healing wells to sacred stones, the author of a new guide to Magical Britain selects his favourite wild and enchanting places
In a remote location beyond Loch Lyon (seven miles west of Cashlie in Glen Lyon), a twice-yearly seasonal ritual has taken place at the shrine of Tigh Nam Bodach since time immemorial. A low, turf-roofed stone structure houses a number of river-worn stones of vaguely humanoid shape, and these are brought out and placed in front of the shrine on Beltane (1 May). There they stand and keep watch over the land until they are returned to the shrine’s interior at Samhain (1 November) for the winter. The figures are said to represent the Bodach (“old man”) and the Cailleach, the Celtic crone goddess who presides over the land and brings the changing seasons. Open all year and free to access.
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