As you head through the woods to see the St Nectans Glenn you will notice there is endless ribons attached to the trees – These are left by people who have been in the water in the hope to bring long life and good health.
There are also numerous rocks stacked like natural ornaments leading up to the water fall and around it and these carry many spiritual meanings and these are called a rock cairn. The act of balancing stones carries with it a practice of patience and a physical effort to create balance.
Rock cairns have been used to mark trails for thousands of years and as you can see still used today. Some groups used them as parts of rituals or to mark spots to meditate.
Here is ours we build and funnily enough we found a love heart shaped stone.
The waterfall itself is a spectacular sixty foot waterfall through a hole in the rocks. The site attracts tourists who believe it to be “one of the UK’s most spiritual sites,” Around the waterfall there is crystals, photographs, money slotted into treea, small piles of flat stones, notes and many other personal offerings as I would call them.
Ghosts
Ghostly hooded monks is the main sighting and they have been heard chanting as well as two ghostly grey women, said to be St Nectan’s sisters. A apparition if a stooping old man has been observed standing by the water.
In July 1981, one witness saw a burning human skull in a tree after hearing many whispering voices, although being alone…..
Legend says they are buried beneath a large flat slab in the river, near the bottom of the water fall. St Nectan himself is buried in an oak chest somewhere below the falls.
When A men attempted to dig at the kieve centuries ago, a voice is said to have called out, proclaiming, “The child is not yet born who shall recover this treasure.”
Other sightings of ghosts and other mysterious happenings include a man on a bridge being seen and a burning skull in a tree. In the glen on the Halgabron side of the first bridge, fairies have been seen dancing. At the second bridge, a little fire is often seen, which appears and then vanishes.
It is believed locally that, in the sixth century, Saint Nectan had a hermitage above the waterfall, and rang a silver bell to warn ships of the dangers of offshore rocks at the mouth of the Rocky Valley during storms.
Further downstream are the brick remains of St Gerwyn, a house which was destroyed in a fire in the mid-twentieth century.
St Nectan’s Kieve, the only waterfall of its kind, where the water falls down through a holed stone into the basin below.
The waterfall is said to have healing powers, and is described as being one of the ten most spiritually significant places in the country. Above the kieve is St Nectan’s Cell, where people sit for meditation, healing and prayer.
Before St Nectan passed away, he realised that his simple faith was being ravaged by the marauding Romans. He asked to be carried to the edge of the Kieve, where he launched his bell into the waters and declared that his bell would never ring for unbelievers. Legend has it that at times the bell tolls to warn of misfortune to come.
Spirits are thought to dwell within the kieve, and many like to leave offerings or light candles to show their respect and ask for healing or help from the spirits.
Many myths and legends, from King Arthur and his knights to ghostly sightings, surround this place.
Take a look round the site with us in this video below:
