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Ebbing And Flowing Well Giggleswick

RaM

Justified & Ancient
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Mar 12, 2015
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NW UK
I had a look at the ebbing and flowing well Nr Giggleswick on Saturday 21/03/15 and it
was ebbing and flowing over a hight of about 4 inches, it's right at the side of the road
across from the golf course, parking is difficult but there is a small parking area just on
the Giggleswick side.
 
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I had a look at the ebbing and flowing well Nr Giggelwick on Saterday 21/03/15 and it
was ebbing and flowing over a hight of about 4 inches, it's right at the side of the road
across from the golf course, parking is difficult but there is a small parking area just on
the Giggelwick side.
Do you mean Giggleswick? Ah, you do, I just found the well marked on the OS map! :p
It's on the edge of Giggleswick scar, and there are several caves indicated in the land above.
The well is north of Settle golf club, and the road is the B6480.

Never heard of it before.
 
Do you mean Giggleswick? Ah, you do, I just found the well marked on the OS map! :p
It's on the edge of Giggleswick scar, and there are several caves indicated in the land above.
The well is north of Settle golf club, and the road is the B6480.

Never heard of it before.

It was investigated some time back and they could not work out why it ebbed and flowed but
when everything was put back it did not ebb and flow it seems it now does again, I did not taste
the water but it was very clear and it is said to be nice tasting, strange thing is over the time I
was there I did not see any sign of life no bugs or frogspawn that many other places are full of
at this time of year.
 
I did not taste the water but it was very clear and it is said to be nice tasting, strange thing is over the time I
was there I did not see any sign of life no bugs or frogspawn that many other places are full of
at this time of year.
Frogspawn is normally associated with still water. If the water rises and falls there must be in- and outflows somewhere. Does the water seem to flow in one side and out the other?
 
We have a rarity here, a topic not apparently mentioned in Wikipedia!

But it does mention http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingleborough to the NW of Giggleswick, where

"The Smearsett Scar region is not devoid of interesting features either; here can be found the Celtic Wall, the Ebbing and Flowing Well (which has now stopped ebbing and flowing) and a glacial hollow known as the Happy Valley."

Smearsett Scar is about 3km north of the named well marked on the OS map, so perhaps this well is the one referred to in the Ingleborough article. Though possibly in a region with complex underground features, there could have been two (or more) ebbing and flowing wells.

Any experts on the Yorkshire Dales have any input on this?
 
Ooooh, nice find RaM.

Not my video, but this has a bit of 'istory as well as a speeded up bit where you can watch the water rise and fall


I like this one better fort narration, even if the well isn't performing, erm, particularly well.

 
And a bit of spooky 'istory to go with it.

The well is situated at the foot of Giggleswick Scar beside the road which runs from Settle to Clapham, and 1 mile west of Giggleswick.

The water of this celebrated well periodically ebbs and flows, at times brimming over to run across the road, yet at other times its at least 8 feet below the edge of the stone trough that it runs.

There are two legends attached to the well and a stained- glass window in the nearby church of St Alkelda, Giggleswick depicts possible 'sacrifices' at the well.

The legend behind this tells how a nymph was being chased by a satyr who was overcome with lust. The nymph prayed to the gods and was saved by being turned into a well - famous for healing. The only thing that remained of the nymph was her eternal breath that causes the well to ebb and flow like the tides.

The second legend is that the spirit of this well gave to Ben Nevison, the highwayman, a magic bridle which, when he was chased, allowed him to perform extraordinary feats to evade capture, one of which was to leap on horseback across the awe-inspiring chasm of Hell Gill.


http://www.haunted-yorkshire.co.uk/giggleswicksightings.htm
 
The water was higher when I was there, the rise and fall was about 4 inches and quite
fast, it seemed to disappear towards the front bottom left in the first video then after
a time began to fill from the top left corner there was quite a current and eddied formed,
also the sound of running water, a interesting place to visit if passing.
 
And a really great thread on it here, which attributes the ebbing and flowing to a syphonic action.

or as one poster put it:

That sounds like the way a symphonic toilet works.
:eek:

Scroll down the page for a nice diagram.
 
And a really great thread on it here, which attributes the ebbing and flowing to a syphonic action.

or as one poster put it:

:eek:

Scroll down the page for a nice diagram.

If it's a syphon it must be on the feed side as it was the feed that seemed
to start and stop.
 
...there was quite a current and eddied formed,
also the sound of running water, a interesting place to visit if passing.
Hence no frogspawn! Any eggs deposited there would have been washed away. And probably no food there for tadpoles either.

Btw, can you change the spelling in the thread title? - just edit your opening post.
 
I want a symphonic toilet!

Obviously, it must be able to play at least two symphonies: No.1 and No.2.
And it should be capable of playing a brown note.
 
And a really great thread on it here, which attributes the ebbing and flowing to a syphonic action.
Yes, excellent observations and a clear explanation, with diagram. The siphon must be downstream of the ebbing and flowing well, and the varying periods of rise and fall will depend on the rate of the inflow, which in turn will depend on the recent rainfall in the district. After a long dry spell, the well would not work at all. But it would take some change in the underground waterchannels to stop it for good.
 
I'm really slow on the uptake here. Isn't a Giggleswick a euphemism for a knob?
We don't want to know about your personal hang-ups.
This thread is about geology and hydraulics!
 
I pass Giggleswick on the train on my way to my brothers in Gargrave. I will have to stop off some time and have a look.
 
Defiantly worth a look I will call again.
 
We visited a few years back but it wasn't ebbing or flowing at that point. it had clear water but the level was static.
 
Isn't a Giggleswick a euphemism for a knob?

I think anything becomes a euphemism for a knob simply by being used as a euphemism for a knob.

Ditto female genitalia and poop, though I think having 'wick' in there pigeon holes this one. :p

Must stop by and have a look at this well myself, if I'm in that neck of the woods.
 
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