A stone canopy with a pointed roof is built into the west facing perimeter wall of a pre-Reformation chapel. The structure has an arched recess in which items can be displayed at various levels, and is crowned with a small stone cross. Below the recess is a basin built into the canopy which may have been the font used in the chapel. Steps lead down to the subterranean spring located directly below the structure.

The chapel was rebuilt in 1844 as a mausoleum for the Duff family and the gates are now kept chained. Which is a shame as it is a beautiful building with a long Latin inscription over the east facing door.

Prior to the outbreak of war in 1914, throngs of both Catholics and Protestants would make pilgrimages to the well on the first sunday in May and on the sunday in the octave of Assumption (mid August). For some reason the Church did not take kindly to these visits and several pilgrims were brought in front of the Session for offences like "going supersticiously to a Vell at Speyside" and for having "kneillit about the chappell" drinking of the water.

Lammas (Lughnasad - August 1st) was a particularly favoured time for pilgrimages to this well. A minister at Ruthven reported a large number of visitors on the "thrie Saturdays before Lambas and thrie efter." These he called "the six sillie Saturdays."

According to the same clergyman "the ignorantes repaired to ane wel at this kirk, called Our Ladie Wel, superstitiouslie, and kneeled about the said kirk, it is reportit that the evil is removed." Clearly, this servant of God did not think too highly of the powers of the water despite the dedication that the well had received.

An important part of the ritual of pilgrimage was to leave a small offering at the well and to take a sample of the water home to keep for the following year. The waters themselves were thought to cure whooping cough, sore eyes and joint diseases. According to Ruth and Frank Morris, the pilgrimage tradition was revived in 1938. They also suggest that this well may be associated with the white witch, Dame Aliset who used the well water to cure a faery child.

 This is a difficult well to find, tucked away in a maze of lanes near to the river Spey. But the isolation adds to its intrigue. The air all around is quiet and still, full of atmosphere. Personally, i found the silence and solitude rather spooky, probably because of the presence of the old chapel which looked like a great place for a vampyre retreat. A place i could call home!!

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