St Columba's Font Stone - an Abriachan mystery

At Abriachan we have the wonderful and not very widely known St Columba’s Font Stone. Under the shady branches of the hazel trees, this mysterious hole sunk into granite schist, sits, surrounded in tales of religion and magic.

If you were to ask around and you’ll find no two people readily agree on the origins or intended use of this man-made hollow. The most common tale attributes its beginnings to St. Columba, who passed our way in the 6th century. Was it the base for a cross?. Was the water within used to anoint and purify? Is there some darker, more pagan usage hidden in the mists of time?

Certainly, there is a belief that the water is of benefit to women in childbirth, and even until recent years, a few drops have been known to be added to the baptismal bowls of infants.

There are also less romantic notions, that it is simply a foundation stone of a house, used to support the central wooden roof pole–or more functional still, a partially constructed millstone. You can see it is still attached to a much larger rock, maybe a work in progress.

Decide for yourself! – For whilst its purpose may have faded into history, the stone still commands a mystical presence, adding to the wealth of folk-law and myth that penetrates Scotland.

A final thought. The hole is unattached to any underground spring and sunk in the most impermeable of stone, yet it has never been known to run dry, even in the driest summers.

However, when we owned vizslas, our dogs could be frequently caught red handed slurping the water out of the stone. Maybe they didn’t appreciate history, although our last dog, West lived far beyond the average age for a vizsla, so maybe he was on to something.