About Us
About St Nectan’s Glen
Through the centuries, the river Trevillet has carved its way through Late Devonian slate, creating a magnificent 60-foot waterfall which has punched a hole through the original kieve (basin). The water now cascades from this through the beautiful flora-laden valley.
St Nectan’s kieve is revered as a sacred place, where numerous ribbons, crystals, photographs, inscriptions, prayers and other devotions now adorn the foliage and rock walls near the waterfall. You will even find a number of small stacks of flat stones, known as Faerie Stacks, constructed from stones collected from the waters by visitors, marking a special thought or moment in time during their visit, or to commemorate memories and loved ones.
Some say that, once you have built your faerie stack, you should make a wish; others say that, if you are still and quiet enough, you may glimpse a fairy flitting past!
It is believed that a building (known as the Hermitage) located at the top of the waterfall belonged to the sixth-century Saint Nectan. The date of the building is uncertain but according to legend, Saint Nectan rang a silver bell in times of stormy weather to warn passing ships of the perils of the rocks at the mouth of Rocky Valley. It is also understood that the ruins of a Christian chapel provide the lower part of the walls of a cottage erected in the 1860s, and extended around 1900.
Many myths and legends, from King Arthur and his knights to ghostly sightings surround this place; but one undeniable fact is that it is a place of mystical and spiritual natural beauty.
