Tuesday 29 November 2022

Skulferatu #86 - The King's Cave, Arran

 

To get to my walk for today to the King’s Cave, I was dropped off at a nearby car park, helpfully called Kings Cave Car Park. From there I followed the path through a woodland plantation that eventually took me out on to a steep path that descended down to a rocky and pebble strewn beach below.  There I found the King’s Cave, which is one of a series of caves in the sandstone cliffs that were formed during the Ice Age, around ten thousand years ago.

 

Photo showing a fancy Victorian iron fence and gate at the entrance to a cave - this is the King's Cave entrance.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The King’s Cave

 

A photo showing a series of caves in a sandstone cliff on the sea front.  In the foreground are rocks and above the caves there is a lot of vegetation.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The caves along the coast

 

A photo of a series of caves in the cliff face with the rocky beach in the foreground.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The caves in the cliffs

 

A view looking along from the rocky cliff face in the foreground, out over the sea to a rocky promontory - Drumadoon Point.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
View from the caves down to Drumadoon Point

 

The King’s Cave is the largest of these caves and the name comes from the legend that Robert the Bruce once took shelter here when on the run, and that it was in this cave that he met the famous spider.  For those of you not familiar with the story, Bruce had suffered a heavy defeat by the English army and was on the run.  While taking shelter in a cave he noticed a little spider trying to weave a web.  It would get so far, then fall, but would climb back up and attempt to start again.  Eventually, after falling numerous times it succeeded in building its web.  From watching this Bruce took the lesson that ‘if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try, try again’.  He then went on to defeat the English army at Bannockburn.  Though the caves are full of little spiders, it is unlikely that there is any truth to the story or that Bruce even sheltered here.

 

Before the cave was known as the King’s Cave, it was referred to as Fingal’s Cave, after the legendary Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill or Fin McCool, which let's face it is much easier to pronounce.  What he had to do with this cave I have no idea, as all I can remember about him comes from some of the stories we were told in Primary School.  Though what I remember is not so much the actual stories but more that his size seemed to vary quite massively from story to story.  I’m sure in one he must have been about five hundred feet tall and in another he was only about twelve feet tall, which was something that even at six or seven years old I wanted an explanation for.  I wanted to understand and to make some sort of sense of how he achieved this.  Was there some sort of magic involved?  Or, like Alice in Wonderland, did he take potions that made him bigger or smaller?  Unfortunately, no satisfactory explanation was given by my teacher other than ‘they are just legends, what does it matter?’

 

A view of a path leading into one of the caves with the cliff face above it.  Part of the cliff face looks like a human face peering down on to the path.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Cave and cliffs

 

A view of the caves in the rock face.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The caves

 

A view into the entrance of one of the caves.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
A view into one of the caves

 

A view looking out to the sea from one of the caves at the King's Caves.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Looking out from one of the caves

 

A view inside one of the caves - it is full of boulder type rocks and at the very back there are some drawings on the roof.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Inside one of the caves

 

After exploring all the caves, I sat on a rock by the beach and dozed in the warm afternoon sun.  Then, feeling lovely and refreshed I got up, left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my walk in the King’s Cave and ambled off back through the woods.

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu #86) being held up with the King's Caves in the background.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #86

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu #86) in a gap inside one of the cave walls.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #86 in a gap inside the cave walls

 

Google Map showing the location of Skulferatu #86
Map showing the location of Skulferatu #86

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.526129

Longitude -5.353452

 

what3words: practical.unwanted.boss

 

I used the following sources for information on the Kings Caves –

 

Arran of the Bens, the Glens and the Brave

by MacKenzie MacBride

1911

 

The Book of Arran

Edited by J. A. Balfour

1910

 

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