The Living Wells of Wales New photographs and old tales of our sacred springs, holy wells and spas

Author and photographer Phil Cope takes us on a journey through the sacred wells of Wales, from the Anglesey to the Gwent. On his way he discovers wells in city centers and, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere—on mountainsides, in deserted valleys, on the coast, in sea caves. They include healing wells, cursing wells, and wells named for saints, Satan, witches, angels, fairies, friars, nuns, hermits, murderers, and hangmen. Cope’s atmospheric photographs are accompanied by folk tales, myths and legends, conversations with well-keepers and poems inspired by Welsh wells.
Wales has an abundance of wells both in the natural state and domesticated for private or civic use. Published in conjunction with Keep Wales Tidy’s Living Wells project, this book is a guide to sites of historic interest important to Welsh identity which have been hidden and neglected in town and countryside, and which now have new life as a result of the project. Packed with colour photographs, including some of long-forgotten wells now rediscovered, The Living Wells of Wales is the new definitive volume on a subject gaining a new popularity.

This is a new title in the Holy Wells series, and is preceded by volumes on Scotland, Cornwall and the Borderlands.

Phil Cope is a photographer, writer and teacher, and the designer of several major exhibitions and books. His interest in holy wells began in 2002 and has shaped much of his work and leisure since.