Dragons, Lemurian crystals, turquoise mists, and tales of healing waters and healing powers... Welcome to St. Nectan's Glen.
Hidden deep in an ancient valley on the eastern outskirts of Tintagel, Cornwall, exists a uniquely beautiful 60ft waterfall, known in Cornish as “Glynn Nathan” or St. Nectan’s Nieve and St. Nectan’s Glen. [1]
Declared a place of “special scientific interest” due to the unique flora and fauna that grows there, the Rocky Valley of Gylnn Duwy is home to the Trivellet River which flows directly down to the sea. I later discovered, during research into the area, that the lower sections of the river’s rocks feature some interesting maze or circular tree of life or perhaps telluric currents (or that is my first impression) stone carvings. While not considered ancient, they certainly resemble ancient depictions. [1][3]
St. Nectan’s Glen is in private ownership, and in day-to-day management by some wonderful women caretakers whom I met during my visit – passionate about the sacred energy of the site and its beauty. St. Nectan's Glen had, in ancient times, been a place considered to have natural healing powers and energies; a story tied to a man named St. Nectan, after whom the waterfall and surrounding valley had been named... [2]
St. Nectan’s story is very interesting. Considered a “holy man”, he was born in Ireland, moved to Wales, then to Devon, before arriving in Cornwall – apparently seeking a life of intimate solitude, which he found in the secluded beauty of the rainforest along the Trivellet River, and the Jurassic-looking Tintagel Coast. It is said that St. Nectan had been inspired by St. Anthony – a hermit of Egypt. And there were stories of St. Nectan himself being a healer or a man with healing powers. He tragically later died at the hands of robbers. [8]
Today, the river and waterfall which has since bore a circular hole through the valley rocks, is considered by some to be a “clootie well”, a term given to places of sacred pilgrimage in Celtic lands such as Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Cornwall, England. In ancient times the wells were considered a place to give offers to the goddess of nature or nature spirit, with the natural waters of nearby springs, wells, or supplying rivers believed to contain healing energies. Clooties is Scots for “cloth”. [4]
Back to the present autumnal day, the walk-up to the waterfall and through the valley was humid and damp, but softly beautiful. Green ferns and trickling waters made for a meditative experience for the senses. While the gently ascending paths up to the top of the waterfall generated a notable inner warmth. Arriving at the Tree of Life Café and visitor’s shop, I spoke with the women caretakers present, and was fascinated to hear tales of a large Lemurian crystal found at the waterfall, sightings of fae, and even sleeping dragons… Walking down through the valley, laden with ribbon offerings, it was the sound of the rushing water that reached me first… as is often the case. Happily following its calling, I headed down the path toward the base of the waterfall, saturated and enlivened simultaneously by the surrounding temperate rainforest…
Temperate rainforests are unique to cooler climates, and a rare habitat found in only a few places in the world including the United Kingdom. Often created through a combination of ocean humidity, regular rainfall, and a cool temperature, these rainforests are wildly wet and wonderful places for moisture loving plants that thrive when air is rich and largely free from pollution. [4.] On the way down was a long and narrow waterfall and ghyll, and near the fall’s base some smaller cascading waterfalls along with some stepping stones. Holding true to its atmospheric and almost mystical presence, full view of St Nectan’s Nieve is hidden until... the very... last... moment… Those feeling drawn to come closer, must wade willingly through the river’s shallow waters, nestled in the heart of an impressive, high, and dark, green gorge. First sight of this unique rainforest geological wonder is nothing short of soulful, for its waters naturally radiate a nurturing yet surprisingly powerful effeminate energy. [5]
Personal, Energy Insights
Witnessing the waterfall’s beauty and feeling into its atmospheric energy and the energy field of the water itself, I was immediately able to see its more ancient formation, which was an overflowing and much higher river, which seemed in my higher consciousness view to be flooded – but I also felt this was just its original fullness before the gorge deepened and its in-spate-flow cut down and through the valley. Not knowing anything about the river beforehand, I took this to indicate how the river had changed over time and how it had carved itself into the unique geological feature that it is today.
Feet in the water and hands on the gorge walls, tuning in… a little robin came and stood next to me and flew towards the waterfall. I felt that its path was where my eye needed to be, and toward the left side of the circular hole sure enough I sensed a larger energetic presence but could not see anything specific. However, also in that area I did visibly see a lot of magenta light pigment hanging thickly in the air – and a very faint bluish mist. On the opposite side of the waterfall, where the vines were hanging from above, emanating from the dark, green fauna covered rocks, there, I could also see a blue coloured haze of light – almost seeping from the rocks themselves. In my knowledge and experience of working with crystalline light, the Blue Ray and Turquoise Ray are feminine rays of creation – or feminine aspects of Source light-sound intelligence. The Magenta Ray is the masculine ray of creation – or masculine aspect of Source light-sound intelligence. Afterwards, it struck me as very interesting (but perhaps not surprising) that the landscape here would be holding and emanating the feminine ray – embodied (in or around) as nature, and that the masculine ray frequencies colours would also be present in unity – as its energetic counterpart. The three primary Source rays of our Universal creation (again from personal knowledge and experience) are Blue Ray, Magenta Ray, and Gold Ray. The Gold Ray represents love and unity, and is a powerful healing ray. And while, as it was quite dark, I didn’t see the Gold Ray visibly that day (just the blue/turquoise and magenta), St. Nectan’s Nieve was felt to embody a very powerful loving energy, that I could feel in my own heart field and energy center – opening and activating.
Sadly, I did not have a visible dragon sighting… however, while present I did do some energy work around this. And interestingly when I returned home, and to my great surprise, on some of the photographs in the area which I had observed to be thickly pigmented with Magenta Ray light particles, the outline of a bluish turquoise mist and the form of a dragon like figure can be seen… And even more strikingly, the cosmic blue dragon emanation appears to be facing different ways on different images. Whether this was the mysterious dragon that I had heard tales of moments earlier, and the waterfall’s resident Blue Ray Dragon Guardian, or a coincidental photographic feature… is still a mystery. Personally, I don’t believe in coincidences. However, I will leave these photographs here (and some videos of the waterfall on my social media) for you to intuit for yourself. And, while pondering and exploring, I leave you also with this excerpt from a poem about the waterfall by 19th century female poet, Letitia Elizabeth Landon:
“But the place where we stood was a quiet nook,
Like a secret page in nature's book;
Down at our feet was the midnight well,
Naught of its depths can the daylight tell.
An old oak tree grows near to the spot,
Gray with moss of long years forgot;
They say that the dead are sleeping below,
'Twas a shrine of the Druids ages ago…
There came a flash of terrible light,
And I saw that my comrade's face was white;
The golden cup rose up on a foam,
Then down it plunged to its mystical home.”
[6] [7]
Atalina Marie Wright
9th October 2023
Social Media: Instagram @atalinawright
Lemurian crystal found at St. Nectan's Glen... (with thanks to St. Nectan's Glen staff).
References: [1] St. Nectan’s Kieve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nectan%27s_Kieve [2] St. Nectan’s Glen https://www.st-nectansglen.co.uk/ [3] Stone Carvings https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site.php/2774 [4] Cloutie Wells https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clootie_well [5] UK’s Temperate Rainforests https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/habitats/woodland/temperate-rainforest [6] Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poem http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/4191/st-knighton%26%23039%3Bs-kieve.html [7] Letitia Elizabeth Landon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letitia_Elizabeth_Landon [8] St. Nectan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectan_of_Hartland