Island Tales A Legend of Puckaster Cove

If Puckaster Cove, on the Isle of Wight, us named after Puck, king of the fiaries, surely there must be a fariy tale to go along with it? IIndeed there is such a fantastical tale, penned by Abraham Elder and published in the pages of Bentley's Miscellany in 1839. It tells of a kindly soul, John Kann, who warns a neighbour not to build on the fairies' playground. The fairy-folk are grateful, and one night treat John Kann, magically reduced in size, Alice in Wonderland style, by a pinch of snuff, to a wonderful feast. And also to a secret that will bring him great reward. But what was that secret? And what happened when John Kann told that secret to another? The original tale is republished here, along a with a more recent retelling of it, and short historical notes on Puckaster Cove, the pilgrim path from Niton to the holy well at Whitwell, and the legend of St. Radegund.