ST Ronan’s Wells & Innerleithen

Explore a site visited by the literary stars of the day – and one that continues to play a central role in Innerleithen life today

Dating back to the 1820s, St Ronan’s Wells is a colourful pavilion built on a wooded hillside overlooking the Leithen Valley. It was originally built as a spa retreat but was later extended to include indoor bathing facilities and a bottling plant. 

‘Taking the waters’ became a favourite pastime of affluent Edinburgh society, with the spa at one point rivalling that of the town of Harrogate. The water is still on tap today, although is something of an acquired taste – and smell. 

And it’s not just the fine folk of Edinburgh that were attracted here. The visitor centre housed in the same building, but now sadly under threat of permanent closure, tells the story of the area’s connections with great Scottish writers such as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg, the ‘Ettrick Shepherd’.

Robert Burns visited ‘the famous spaw’ and nearby Traquair House in 1787 when he toured the country to publicise his second volume of poetry – with a commemorative plaque marking the occasion on the wall outside Loulabelles cafe on the town’s High Street.

Scott himself frequented the spa as a boy, with the site inspiring the setting of one of his famous Waverley novels. Published in 1823, Saint Ronan’s Well – the only one of Scott’s novels with a nineteenth century setting – tells the story of how life in a sleepy Tweedale village changes dramatically when a nearby spring becomes a spa and a horde of social climbers move in. 

The site’s name comes from the founding legend of a pilgrim monk called St Ronan who came upon Innerleithen on his journey up the River Tweed. The story goes that ‘St Ronan Cleik’t the Deil by the hind leg and banished him’ – a reference to the monks bringing Christianity to the area. 

Today, St Ronan’s Wells plays a major role in the unique Cleikum Ceremonies which are central to the week-long St Ronan’s Border Games held in July each year. Founded in 1827 by James Hogg, the games are now the oldest organised sports meeting in Scotland. 

Although St Ronan’s Wells visitor centre is only openly temporarily for a volunteer run exhibition, the community garden which climbs up the hillside behind is open all year round and well worth a visit. It packs a lot of interest into a small area, with sculptures, seating areas, a wishing well and extensive views over the valley. 

Contemporary writing

Innerleithen-based children’s author and illustrator Fiona Boyd’s Sir Walter Scott and the Magical Well is a spellbinding tale of magic, friendship and courage in the face of adversity, featuring a mischievous elf, two Dandie Dinmont terriers and Scott himself. Published in 2021, the author was asked to write the book for the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry as part of the celebrations around the 250th anniversary of Scott’s birth.

Further info

Innerleithen is also home to one of the National Trust for Scotland’s most treasured attractions. A living, breathing nod to Scotland’s industrial heritage, Robert Smail’s Printing Works is one of the oldest Victorian letterpress printers in the UK – and an extraordinary example of how art, culture and history are closely woven together across the Tweed Valley. It’s heartily recommended for anyone with a passion for typography and the written word.

Image credits: Ian Linton