Wallace's Cave in the Lugar Gorge at

Auchinleck Auchinleck ( ; sco, Affleck ;
gd, Achadh nan Leac

in the Parish of

Auchinleck Auchinleck ( ; sco, Affleck ;
gd, Achadh nan Leac

is an 18th-century grotto contemporary with Dr Johnson's Summerhouse, also located on the Auchinleck Estate. It shows superior workmanship in its construction, possibly being the enlargement of a pre-existing cave. The cave or grotto lies downstream of the confluence of the Dippol Burn with the

River Lugar The Lugar Water, or River Lugar, is created by the confluence of the Bellow Water and the Glenmuir Water, just north of Lugar, both of which flow from the hills of the Southern Uplands in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Course Source to Cumnock Th ...

and is reached via a once well formed path, however access is now hazardous due to the condition of the cliff edge path and the vertical drop into the

Cave and access

The cave is a Category B Listed Building that is reached via a narrow path and some rock cut steps that follow the

gorge. Lying within a side gorge cut by a small burn the final approach requires the crossing of the burn. The masons chisel marks are very clear on the walls and their work created a chamber with a floor area of approximately 14 square feet with prominent rib vaults that rise from the four corners meeting at the central roof apex, thus creating the impression, deliberately or not, of a cross or

Saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...

. The cave height is approximately ten feet and access is via a pointed seven foot high arched doorway, now minus its door, with one small, similarly shaped window to left as seen from the outside. The window shows no obvious sign of having been glazed. The eminent antiquarian John Smith visited the area circa 1895 recording historic sites but makes no reference to the two caves on the estate. It has been suggested that this or a previous cave dates from the late 13th or 14th century. Warrick, writing in 1899, makes no reference to Wallace's Cave at this site although he mentions one near Lugar in the Cubs' Glen on the Glenmuir Water. John Thomson's map of 1832 does not mark the cave however the natural feature Kemp's Castle and the ruins of Ochiltree Castle and Auchinleck Castle are shown. The 1857 OS map shows a path leading to the site with no cave indicated, however by 1896 it is recorded. The 1908 map records the cave however the access path is no longer shown.

Other Wallace's Cave sites

Wallace's Cave Wallace's Cave is situated in Roslin Glen, in Midlothian, Scotland. It is also known as Hawthornden Castle Cave, after Hawthornden Castle which is nearby. It takes its name from William Wallace, the Scottish national hero, who participated in ...

or Hawthornden Castle Cave exists in Roslin Glen, in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

. Hawthornden Castle stands nearby and the patriot took part in the Battle of Rosslyn on 24 February 1303. A Wallace's Cave was located in Bothwell Parish on the South Calder Water, Lanarkshire, to the west of Cleland and close to the site of the old Ravenscraig Steelworks. Crawhill in

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

has a Wallace's Cave that is said to have been used by him after the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wal ...

. The

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

has an example at Corra Linn near

New Lanark New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometres) from Lanark, in Lanarkshire, and some southeast of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1785 and opened in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housi ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

. On the opposite side of the

River Ayr The River Ayr (pronounced like ''air'', ''Uisge Àir'' in Gaelic) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. At it is the longest river in the county. The river was held as sacred by pre-Christian cultures. The remains of several prehistoric sacrificial ...

from

Wallace's Heel Well Wallace's Heel Well or Wallace's Heel is located beside the River Ayr (NS35502122) near the old Holmston lime kiln, Ayr, Scotland. It is a petrosomatoglyph said to represent the imprint of a heel and is associated with the story of an escape from ...

a Wallace's Cave was located and it is said that

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

used it to hide from English troops. No sign of it remains. A natural cave in the Cartland Craigs (NS 8691 4454) ravine in South Lanarkshire is locally said to have been used as a refuge by William Wallace. Tradition identifies a Wallace's Cave located at a rock shelter near Lugar in the Cubs' Glen on the Glenmuir Water.

History

It has been estimated as dating from circa 1760 and has been hewn from soft red sandstone in the Gothic style as a man-made folly or grotto, although the possibility remains that it was an extension of a natural cave. The RCAHMS Canmore site classifies the site as post-medieval and holds no details of the grotto. The original Auchinleck Castle stands upstream of the cave just above the confluence of the Dippol Burn with the

. It was common practice during times of war or unrest to hide valuables, charters, etc. in safe locations and it is possible that Wallace's Cave may have been first made for this purpose as was the case with Bruce's Cave at

Kirkpatrick Fleming Kirkpatrick-Fleming (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Phàdraig) is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is located between the Kirtle Water and the A74(M) motorway, the Solway Firth, and the Cumbrian hills are visibl ...

. The first Laird of Auchinleck or Affleck on record was Nicol de Achethlec or Achethlic who was a great supporter of Scottish independence and is said to have been related to

Sir William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at ...

. It is known that Nicol rode with Wallace to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

where the English soldiers were defeated at the 'Battle of the Bell of the Brae'. It has been surmised that the grotto's name patriotically commemorates the romantic Boswell family association with the national hero and that it is contemporary with the surviving Gothic grotto variously known as Dr Johnson's Summerhouse, 'Boswell's Summerhouse' situated further upstream on the Dippol Burn near the Ten Shillings Bridge, making two grottoes hewn in the picturesque landscape circa 1760 to enhance the new Auchinleck House and pleasure gardens.

Micro-history

A visitor to one of the caves in circa 1947 describes a walk that takes him to "a staircase of broad wooden steps built into the steep bank, but so deep in leaves that the stepping places were hard to distinguish. It led down to the water's edge, and gave access to a large cave hewn in the solid rock. A fine dry apartment it was, and to sit on the carved ledge and watch the wagtails dipping from stone to stone, the burn clear as a sheet of crystal, was most restful." This may refer to the summerhouse named in Dr Samuel Johnson's honour.

References

;Notes

External links