Historical Aspects

HISTORICAL SUMMARY AD 1270 to AD 2006

Scottish caving history can be divided into four eras

1 Wallace and Bruce	2  Bonnie Prince Charlie 3 Sir Walter Scott and the 19th century archaeologists	4  The 20th century cave explorers

In the first two categories, covering nearly 600 years, caves were used as hiding places, mainly from the English. They were also used for many other purposes: Church services were held in them by missionaries bringing a new faith, by the first non-conformists, and by persecuted Catholics. Coffin-bearers would rest in caves on their long journey to the island graveyards where the dead would be safe from marauding animals. Shepherds used caves as sheepfolds. Poachers and cattle-thieves hid their tackle and plunder in caves. However, one of the saddest uses to which caves have been put took place in the 19th century. Land owners had just discovered that profit could be made from sheep. Consequently they set about ruthlessly clearing the tenants off the land. South Uist and Eriskay for instance had a notoriously heartless landlord, and the caves on the shores became the last refuge for the islanders, and the sea shore their larder for what could be could be found to eat.

The wanderings of Bonnie Prince Charlie both before and after the fateful battle of Culloden on the 16 April 1746 forms the topic of numerous books. No claims to completeness are given for the Prince’s cave which are listed.

It was Sir Walter Scott who first visited caves for pleasure and enjoyment. His descriptions of visits to Spar Cave are still held in high esteem in the scientific age of the 20th century. However his account of climbing over the gate of the former without the owner’s permission would, quite justly, bring a torrent of criticism today.

In common with many other countries, the root of modern Scottish cave exploration lies in the archaeological investigations which were undertaken during the latter half of the 19th century. Many small caves and rock shelters were excavated during this period, including sites in Fife, Sutherland, Banff, Kintyre and Argyle. The majority of these investigations were published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The beginning of the 20th century saw B N Peach and J Horne excavating the Bone Cave at Allt nan Uamh, in Assynt, they were followed by J G Callender, J E Cree and Prof J Ritchie. Between the two world wars, only a little true cave exploration took place, the most notable being in Smoo Cave by J Pilling in 1935. The first real contribution to previous knowledge came in the period 1947 to 1953 when the Sheffield University Mountaineering Club, together with other English clubs, notably the Gritstone, visited Sutherland. In 1950 Jim Salvona and John `Jinx’ Jenkinson from Edinburgh began to systematically explore the cave and mines in this area. In the late 1950s the first indigenous activity began with the report in the Cave Research Group newsletter of an expedition to Skye by three cavers who investigated some caves occurring in gabbro and basalt.

After 1958 the number of independent cavers in Scotland rose to such an extent that it was but a matter of time before clubs and societies were formed. Due to the encouragement of Hugh Bottomley of the Craven Pothole Club, then living in Glasgow, a young man called John Butler reformed the Paisley Troglodytes Club. In 1961 Alan Jeffreys founded the Grampian Speleological Group. They were followed by the Glasgow Speleological Society in 1964 who specialised more in mines and industrial archaeology.

In the 1970s, with motorways leading from every caving region to Scotland, some caving regions became very popular with English cavers. Looking back from the 21st century, the road network in Scotland appears to have been improved more than any other area in the rest of Britain. Most of the single track roads have been widened to take 2 lanes of traffic, and ferries have been replaced with bridges or causeways. Every weekend legions of cavers are following in the footsteps of climbers, and discovering for themselves the advantages of Britain’s most under estimated caving area.