John Drewry noted in the original description:

*The Clootie Well is near Culloden (although others occur in other parts of the country). By tradition, it is visited on the first Sunday in May; the visitor throws a coin in the well and ties a cloot to one of the trees to symbolise the leaving of all cares behind.*

*May 1st 1977 was a Sunday. I visited the well with Simon Fraser about a week later and the lower branches of the trees surrounding the well were festooned with hundreds of bits of rag.*

*It would appear that this is the survival of a pre-Christian Celtic custom.*

In later editions of the book, John Drewry added:

*This version issued in September 1977, has an improved figure
for Bars 1-8 and this should replace the earlier version (May 1977).*

and 

*The spelling "Clootie" (rather than "Cloutie") is probably preferable
in that it gives a better indication of the pronunciation. Both spellings
are given in Chambers Scots Dictionary.*