King Charles's Well at Tur Langton

After the Royalists were defeated at the Battle of Naseby, Charles I fled north to Leicester.

According to Roy Palmer's Folklore of Leicestershire and Rutland:

At some stage he visited Tur Langton, where he watered his horse at what is still called King Charles' Well. (This was once the only source of water in the area, and even during the drought of 1976 it did not run dry.)

Today I went to Tur Langton and found the well. It stands three fields from the village, along the footpath towards Stonton Wyville.

On the way you come across some old quarrying, which has marked the landscape, and the local livestock takes an interest.

When I arrived at the well there was a fine red kite circling overhead. Until recently these scavengers were rare in Britain, but it would be surprising if one did not watch Charles and his horse.

The well itself looks unhealthy - a horse would have to be thirsty indeed to risk it. The brick surround, says The Megalithic Portal, dates from 1813.