Interest in holy wells in the West Country and all around the British Isles has been much revived in recent years, not least due to Janet Bord's comprehensive guidebook of last year and her 2006 book about cult and ritual at these evocative sacred sites.

Now we have a new work, in three volumes, on English holy wells – more than a thousand of them – by folklorist and museum curator Jeremy Harte who has a special interest in sacred places and supernatural encounters.

His previous books have explored fairy traditions, cuckoo ponds, singing barrows and that vegetative symbol of vernal rebirth, the Green Man. Jeremy, believes myth surrounding holy wells such as healing qualities, spirits and other-worldly happenings, has stifled important research.

He seeks to draw these mysterious places back into the light of history – in the cities of Bristol, Bath, Wells, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford and in many other towns, villages and remote rustic corners across our region and further afield. The book comes with the second and third volumes on CD-rom to make the complete work available at an affordable price.

■ English Holy Wells: a Sourcebook is published by Heart of Albion Press at £14.95.