A Field Trip on Bodmin Moor
with Pete and Jen Bousfield
9th March 2024
Wellie-assisted dowsing is something of a niche activity, but just sometimes it can be well worth making the effort. The weather forecast had been dire and it was not too surprising that only a self-selected groupette felt it worthwhile venturing out. In the end, the scheduled downpours held off almost completely and the lie of the land protected us from the lazy easterly blast.
The Withey Brook only runs a short distance from its genesis just east of Stowe's Pound to join the River Lynher at Trebartha. Despite that, it has been of great significance to human habitation in the area. Both the ancient settlements to the west, and the equally ancient village atop the massif of the Pound, relied on the Withey for their lifeblood. Later, copper miners needed moorland streams like the Withey, both for drinking water and for industrial purposes.
Pete and Jen have clearly visited this site many times and probably know it better than most - and certainly better than most dowsers. They have explored it at various times of the year, and naturally its aspect tends to change with the seasons.
On this visit the Withey Pool was about as full as it ever gets and the surrounding area was decidedly marshy after weeks of persistent rainfall.
Jen has some fascinating video clips of the Withey this time last year literally bubbling out of the ground, in three closely linked springs - whereas on this occasion the pool was much deeper and wider with just the odd bubble visible.
However, it was obvious that the soggy terrain around the pool in no way accounted for the sheer quantity of water flowing out of the pond. Beneath the pool is an upswelling of some magnitude - which never runs dry.
My dowsing indicated that the water quality as it comes out of the ground was above 9/10 - and pretty close to a typical Holy Water standard. Add to the mix that the Mary Line, coursing north from her interactions at the Hurlers Stone Circles just half a mile away, encompasses the whole of the pool, this is certainly a veritable holy-ish site, even without the usual crossing flows.
Such is the water quality that Pete and Jen have seen cattle 'sniffing' the water surface to select the very best of it to drink. The surrounding turf and mud bears the footprints of countless ponies, cattle and sheep, who habitually use this natural facility. It must indeed be a veritable honey pot for the local wildlife. Maybe not quite a waterhole in the Serengeti, but squint a little and you might see the Beast of Bodmin Moor (Oh yes there is!) bounding out from behind some dry stone wall to nab any unwary creatures.
Strangely for such a special source, the water only appears to come from around eight metres below the surface - whereas for purity of this type, one might expect something much deeper. However, another flow traverses the whole pond at 50 - 70 metres below ground, and it is possible that this latter current finds its way into the base flow of the pool through fissures in the granite.
Running across the landscape quite close to the pool, is a subterranean dyke of harder rock, which may block the deeper flow to some extent and inadvertently give rise to the Withey at this point.
A second energy line crosses the Withey towards the north end of the pool, and in so doing, must interact with the Mary line. However, as both potential crossing points were deep in the marsh at the time of this encounter, that aspect will have to be investigated in a drier period.
The site dowsed as being predominately feminine in nature, and the Site Guardian appears to be located right in the middle of the pool. She was aware of our presence and had no issues with our activities.
The east of Bodmin Moor is littered with interesting archaeology, both classical and industrial, but it is a real treat to be shown an essentially natural location of this type and quality.
We made it back to the welcoming local caff shortly before the burgeoning clouds started to precipitate.
Many thanks to whatever, or whoever, kept the deluge at bay, decidedly against the prediction - but most of all many thanks to Pete and Jen for sharing one of their personally valued places with us.
Nigel Twinn
Tanar Dowsers
March 2024
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