A Scottish tourist guide has revealed that a 'wishing well' popular among tourists is in fact "an old sewer".
Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement located on Orkney. Regarded as the best-preserved in Western Europe, the pre-historic village brings visitors far and wide to see its ancient homes.
The settlement includes ‘fitted’ furniture made 5,000 years ago, as well as artefacts such as gaming dice, tools, and jewellery. It also has a primitive sewer system, with 'toilets' and drains in each house.
According to Kinlay Francis from local tour operator Orkney Uncovered, a subterranean hole in the ground at the site that is part of a drain system has long been incorrectly identified as a wishing well by tourists—who continue to throw pennies into it for luck.
Taking to Facebook, the guide wrote: "For years people have been throwing money down a subterranean hole in the Skara Brae ground, thinking they are throwing money down a well to make a wish. I have great delight in telling my clients and anybody who throws their money down there that they are in fact throwing money down the toilet.
"This is the old drain/sewer from the Skara Brae site. It is not and I repeat NOT a wishing well. So don’t go there to spend a penny."
Before long, the post had received over 2,000 reactions and almost 150 comments. Fellow Facebook users were quick to share their thoughts on the "hilarious" revelation.
One wrote: "Oh! So! Priceless!"
"It's not a wishing well...it's a s******g well," a second joked, while a third echoed: "Really a p*****g well not a wishing well then".
"Still...maybe brings good luck", argued a fourth, and a fifth wrote: "Where there is muck there is brass!"
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