September 2024: The Research Begins

MMC's MetaMapping project — our methodology for exploring and mapping the relationship between the physical and metaphysical territories of Borderlands sites — identified St Ronan's Wells as a location of profound significance. We began organised planning and timeline documentation for heritage research across the region.

February 2025: Building the Knowledge Base

We engaged with heritage specialists, including Scotland's Intangible Cultural Heritage officers at Historic Environment Scotland and the Folklore Museums Network. Site visits with our Buildings and land conservationist and our local historian deepened our understanding of the well's layered history — from geological surveys and historical maps dating to the 1600s, to the etymology of Innerleithen itself .

Our research explored:

• The site's role in pilgrimage traditions

• Folk music and fairylore connections

• The deeper meanings of the Cleikum Festival

• Potential university, museum and other partnerships

March 2025: Expanding the Team

A large team meeting brought together specialists including mythologists, data analysts, historians, and heritage professionals to explore and plan the potentials for regenerative projects for St Ronan's Well as a living pilgrimage site and community resource.

We met with folklore museum network specialist Peter and Historic Environment Scotland's specialist Ben to discuss intangible cultural heritage documentation, accessibility, funding strategies, and community engagement approaches.

April 2025: Engaging the Community

A pivotal meeting with Ross, a 40-year Innerleithen community member and biochemist, provided detailed local knowledge:

• The well's neglect since the caretaker retired

• The building's condition (house, former bottling plant/museum, garden, underground tanks)

• Water supply issues requiring attention

• Estimated repair costs

• The site's historical importance as a pilgrimage destination and its royal warrant for water supply

• We also began coordination with the St Ronan's Border Games Committee for festival integration.

April 2025: Heritage Fund Application

Working with our local team, we developed a comprehensive funding application for the National Lottery Heritage Fund:

• £56,874 project budget

• 18-month programme to document intangible cultural heritage

• Five public events exploring water symbolism, pilgrimage, folklore, and local mythology

• Professional documentation of the Cleikum Festival

• Creation of a Living Mythology through community co-creation

• Digital archive in partnership with Live Borders Museums and the Folklore Museums Network

Spring 2025: Local Tourism Partnership

A meeting with an established local tour guide deepened our understanding of tourism in the Scottish Borders — not just the routes and landmarks, but the community celebrations, local stories, and sense of place that make the region distinctive. Their knowledge of the area's heritage, its people, and the way visitors experience the Borderlands proved invaluable.

We are developing a working partnership built on a shared commitment to authentic, respectful tourism — the kind that honours local communities and their places rather than commodifying them. For those wishing to experience the genuine character of the Borderlands, this is the approach we believe in: tourism grounded in deep local knowledge, genuine relationships, and real care for what makes this landscape and it's places extraordinary.

July 2025: Cleikum Festival Documentation

Videographers captured the ceremonial heart of the 2025 Cleikum Festival:

• The Cleikum Ceremony at the Memorial Hall

• The Ceremony at St Ronan's Well where the Standard Bearer drinks from the spring

• The torchlit Masonic procession with hand-washing and dove releasing

• The Burning of the De'il — a community ritual with deep inherited symbolism
  

This footage preserves traditions that many participants no longer understand the deeper symbolism and origins of — the very intangible heritage at risk of being lost and genuine links to our fading Celtic roots...

November 20, 2025: CAT Process Announced

Scottish Borders Council initiated Community Asset Transfer applications for Live Borders sites, including St Ronan's Wells, as part of cost-saving measures.

By this point, MMC had been actively engaged with St Ronan's Wells for over 14 months.

Late 2025: International Pilgrimage Discussions

Following the CAT announcement, we entered exploratory discussions with an established American pilgrimage organisation about developing a working partnership to bring Americans to St Ronan's Wells and the Scottish Borders.

The opportunity is rooted in a documented reality: according to VisitScotland's 2023 Visitor Survey, 41% of long haul visitors cite Scottish ancestry as a major motivation for their trip, and pilgrimage tourism is experiencing a global resurgence. Many Americans with Scottish roots are seeking more than sightseeing — they want to walk the land their ancestors walked, encounter the traditions that shaped their heritage, and experience the deeper dimensions of place that standard tourism cannot offer.

St Ronan's Wells, as a sacred site with unbroken connections to pilgrimage, healing, and Celtic tradition, is a natural destination for this kind of journey. We are exploring how to develop this relationship in a way that brings genuine benefit to Innerleithen and the Borders — connecting international visitors with the heart of the in-between, while ensuring that what they encounter here is authentic, respectful, and rooted in the community that holds this place.

Present: The CAT Application

Our Community Asset Transfer application builds on everything we've learned, documented, and built. We bring:

• Demonstrated commitment predating the CAT process

• Professional heritage documentation already completed

• Established partnerships with heritage organisations

• Genuine community relationships forged over months of engagement

• A clear vision rooted in community stewardship and specialist tourism based around protecting ICH.

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Saving St Ronan's:
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