Cave Hill or Cavehill is a rocky hill overlooking the city of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, with a height of . It is marked by

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

cliffs and caves, and its distinguishing feature is 'Napoleon's Nose',BBC News website
/ref> a tall cliff which resembles the profile of the emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. On top of this are the remains of an ancient promontory fort called McArt's Fort. Cavehill was also historically called 'Ben Madigan' (from ga, Beann Mhadagáin, "Madagán’s peak"), after a king of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

called Madagán who died in 856AD. It forms part of the Belfast Hills and marks the southeastern edge of the

Antrim Plateau County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. All of Belfast can be seen from its peak, as can the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and Scotland on clear days. Like

Arthur's Seat Arthur's Seat ( gd, Suidhe Artair, ) is an ancient volcano which is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtu ...

in Edinburgh, it lies just a few miles from the centre of a major city. Cave Hill is thought to be the inspiration for

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

's '' Gulliver's Travels''. Swift imagined that Cave Hill resembled the shape of a sleeping giant safeguarding the city. Cavehill is also known to be an extinct volcano

Overview

Cave Hill rises to above sea level. Most of its lower east side lies on the

Belfast Castle Belfast Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent positio ...

estate, which has as its focal point the imposing 19th-century

Scottish baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

castle. The castle was designed by the firm of Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon and was constructed for The 3rd Marquess of Donegall in the late 1860s and early 1870s in the Deer Park. The slopes of Cave Hill were originally used as farmland but, from the 1880s, a major planting exercise was undertaken, producing the now familiar deciduous and coniferous woodland landscape. Belfast Castle estate was given to the City of Belfast by The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury in 1934. McArts Fort, Cave Hill - geograph

Caves

There are three large caves. The lowest is long, wide and varies from 7 to in height. Above this is another cave; long, wide and in height. Above this is the third major cave, said to be divided into 2 unequal parts, each of which is more extensive than the larger of the other caves, but the ascent is notoriously dangerous and thus few venture to it. The caves are man-made, and it is postulated that they were originally excavated for iron-mining. Adjacent to the lowest cave is 'The Devil's Punchbowl', also sometimes called 'The Devil's Cauldron', a site where ancient Celtic farmers corralled their cattle. This consists mainly of a steep hill, mainly of rocks and boulders, and is considered dangerous to amateurs.

McArt's Fort

This fort, on the top of the cliff, is an example of an old ringfort or rath. It is protected on one side by a precipice and on the others by a single ditch, in depth and in width; a

vallum Vallum is either the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart (Agger) with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch (fossa). The name is derived from '' vallus'' (a ...

of large dimensions. The enclosed area is nearly level. The flat top of the fort is from north to south, and from east to west. It is believed that the fort's inhabitants used the caves to store white foods for the winter and may have served as a refuge during times of attack.

History

The hill was originally known, in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

, as (meaning "Madigan's hill"), after one of two Kings of

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...

: Matudán mac Muiredaig, who ruled from 839 to 857 A.D., or a later king, Matudán mac Áeda (reigned 937–950 A.D.). The later king's grandson, Eochaid mac Ardgail, was killed at the battle of Crew Hill in 1004, in which the Men of

were defeated by their old enemies, the

Cenél nEógain Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history * Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) i ...

. It is from him that McArt's Fort derived its name. The residential neighbourhood at the foot of Cave Hill's entrance is derivatively known as Ben Madigan, with street names to match, and is a wealthy semi-outer city, semi-suburban area. The name 'Ben Madigan' can also be found attached to buildings and schools close to the area, e.g. the

Belfast Royal Academy The Belfast Royal Academy (commonly shortened to ) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school in north Belfast. The Academy is one of 8 schools in Northern ...

has the Ben Madigan Preparatory School on the

Antrim Road The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to D ...

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...

Theobald Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone ( ga, Bhulbh Teón; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members in Belfast and Dublin of the United Irishmen, a republican socie ...

and

Henry Joy McCracken Henry Joy McCracken (31 August 1767 – 17 July 1798) was an Irish republican, a leading member of the Society of the United Irishmen and a commander of their forces in the field in the Rebellion of 1798. In pursuit of an independent and democra ...

allegedly met at Cave Hill in 1795 to take an oath to launch the

rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced ...

. McCracken was captured on Cave Hill in 1798. The crowning stone Giant's Chair of the O'Neill clan was apparently sited on Cave Hill summit until 1896 and gave its name to the nearby Throne Hospital. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, a bomb dropped prematurely during a German bombing raid on Belfast exploded, causing a large crater near the grounds of Belfast Castle. It is understood that RAF Bomber Command was situated on Cave Hill in the early years of World War II before relocating to

Castle Archdale Castle Archdale in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland is a former estate on the shores of Lough Erne Lower, the key feature of which today is Castle Archdale Country Park. There is also a caravan park. The former estate is situated near Lisnarick ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

. Hence the German bomb may have been intentional. On 1 June 1944, an American Air Force B-17 bomber crashed into Cave Hill during heavy fog, killing all ten crew instantly. The incident inspired Richard Attenborough's film, ''

Closing the Ring ''Closing the Ring'' is a 2007 romantic drama film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Stephen Amell, Neve Campbell, Pete Postlethwaite, and Brenda Fricker. It was the final fil ...

''. Some scenes of the film were shot on Cave Hill. The site of the crash is accessed via Carr's Glen Country Park where the field, known locally as 'The Bomb hole Field' remains open to public.

Geology

The hill owes its characteristic shape to

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

basalt lava flows, from 65 million years ago. This is underlain by

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

—145 million years—Ulster White Limestone and below this is

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

—200 million years—Waterloo Mudstone Formation, more commonly known as Lias clay. Limestone was mined on the southern flanks of Cave Hill in Victorian times and transported to Belfast docks by way of a horse-worked railway along the Limestone Road. The railroad was abandoned in the 1890s. Two small hamlets—Daddystown and Mammystown—were built on either side of the railway track in the early 1820s as dwellings for quarry workers. Some of the local avenues and streets bear the name 'Waterloo', in reference to their geological origins.

Tourism and recreation

Cave Hill Country Park,

Belfast Zoo Belfast Zoological Gardens (also known as ''Bellevue Zoo'') is a zoo in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is in a relatively secluded location on the northeastern slope of Cavehill, overlooking Belfast's Antrim Road. Belfast Zoo is one of the to ...

and Belfast Castle are visited by both locals and tourists. In the 18th century, the people of Belfast visited the area on Easter Monday for the Cave Hill fete, near a spring known as the 'Volunteers' Well'. The summit has views southwards over Belfast City and Lough towards the Mourne Mountains,

Scrabo Tower Scrabo Tower is a high 19th-century lookout tower or folly that stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards in County Down, Northern Ireland. It provides wide views and is a landmark that can be seen from afar. It was built as a memorial to Charles ...

and Slieve Croob.

References

External links

Belfast ParksDiscussion of Cave Hill historyCave Hill's appearances in literature
{{Authority control Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Northern Ireland Mountains and hills of County Antrim Geography of Belfast Parks in Belfast Tourist attractions in County Antrim Volcanism of Northern Ireland Aviation accidents and incidents locations in Northern Ireland