The Chalice Well web site says this...
To be at the well head, to drink the water and absorb the atmosphere in the gardens can be a truly inspirational experience.
...which I understand to mean that the water is potable, not a problem. Photos of the well, for example this one...
...show that it has a cover and a grate. So how do you drink from it? Is the tourist meant to kneel down beside the well and scoop out some water in a container? That seems awkward. Or do references about drinking from the well assume that the tourist purchases a bottle from the Trust?
The Wiki entry for the Chalice Well says this about drinking...
When the Well and gardens are closed, it is still possible to obtain water from the well as some of the flow is directed via a pipe emerging through the garden wall in Wellhouse Lane. A similar pipe on the opposite side of the lane provides water from the neighbouring White Spring.
...which means there's an alternative place to drink the well's water. I am not interested in an alternate place because they do not provide the same level of spiritual comfort. Sadly, the Wiki entry does not explain how to drink directly from the well itself. It could mean that the Trust does not sell the water when the well is closed or it could mean that access to the well itself is blocked.
There are lots of photos on Trip Advisor showing some alternate places to drink water from the same spring, but none show a person actually drinking from the well itself.
I called the Trust to ask, but there's no answer.
Question: how does one drink from the Chalice Well?
Secondarily: if one takes an empty bottle and fills it with water from the well, can it be preserved say for several months? Or does the iron content eventually cause the water to become fouled?
My previous questions about sacred springs and wells in England...
