St David's Well
A holy well under the Rock of Weem, in the forest above Castle Menzies, where Sir David Menzies is said to have lived his last years as a hermit.
Above the village of Weem, just across the Tay from Aberfeldy, the hillside is cloaked in forest, and high in the trees a great cliff of rock juts out over the valley.
The Rock of Weem takes its name from the Gaelic for a cave, and tucked beneath it is St David's Well, a small spring among the rocks.
The story goes that Sir David Menzies, of Castle Menzies below, gave up his lands and his place in the world in the fifteenth century to become a monk, and spent the last years of his life as a hermit here under the rock. He built a small chapel and cared for the well, and it has carried his name ever since.
A steep waymarked trail climbs to it from the car park through the woods, past carvings that tell the old stories of the hill, and from the rock there are wide views over Strathtay and Aberfeldy.
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A steep waymarked trail climbs from the Weem Forest car park to the well and the rock, with carvings along the way.
- Where
- Weem Forest, above Weem and Castle Menzies, a mile north of Aberfeldy.
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Add your reviewIn Weem Forest, on the hillside above Weem and Castle Menzies.
Castle MenziesThe sixteenth-century seat of the Clan Menzies below the forest.Under a mile 3 min by road
Aberfeldy Gallery1 mile 4 min by road
Aberfeldy Watermill Bookshop & Cafe1 mile 4 min by road
The Birks of AberfeldyA wooded gorge and waterfalls above Aberfeldy.1 mile 5 min by road
The TayA friendly cafe and takeaway on Dunkeld Street in Aberfeldy, with home cooking, Cullen skink, fish and chips, cakes and scones.1 mile 5 min by road
Dewar's AberfeldyThe distillery built by John Dewar's sons in 1898.2 miles 7 min by road
Places to stay near the well, and when each is next free.
The House at Dun Aluinn- Sleeps 18
- In Aberfeldy
- Under a mile from St David's Well
Pheasant Cottage- Sleeps 6
- In Kincraigie
- 9 miles from St David's Well
Little Pheasant- Sleeps 4
- In Perthshire
- 9 miles from St David's Well
Charlottefield- Sleeps 4
- In Tulliemet
- 9 miles from St David's Well
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