Lord Pitsligo
I’ve written about Lord Pitsligo before, briefly here in a post about his home, Pitsligo Castle, and then in more detail over at The Witch, The Weird and the Wonderful. He’s an intriguing character who hid around the Buchan countryside for three years following the battle of Culloden, for some of the time in a cave which is still referred to as Lord Pitsligo’s Cave.
I had to find it.
Walking to Lord Pitsligo’s Cave
A friend and I set off along the coast, heading West from Rosehearty, having read several conflicting accounts of the exact location of the cave. We knew it had been blown up by the home guard in WW2 and the lower entrance made inaccessible. Perhaps the best we would be able to say was that we’d walked near it?
We passed lines of white quartz and rocky plateaus and many craggy cliffs where we stopped and wondered: is this it?
Then: yes! We just knew we’d found the place. Seagulls flew up, angry about us being so close to their nests, but down we went into the bay.
It’s not too easy to discern in my shadowy pictures, but there’s a pile of rubble where the lower entrance would have been and a small opening in the cliff above.
My friend went back on a brighter day and zoomed in on the higher entrance:
We walked further, along to Quarry Head, the site of a 16th century shipwreck (interesting story here), and looked back across the various bays:
It’s a stunning bit of coastline to explore; the cave is about two miles from Rosehearty. Picture below taken on another day just before a thunder storm, note the tiny white sailing boat in the centre:
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What a pity it was blown up by the home guard. Do you know why they did that to a bit of Scottish history?
There’s a story involving beer, hidden dynamite and an accidental rifle shot, but that may not be true. Possibly they feared it might be used by enemy soldiers?
You have the best adventures! And the most scenic. One thing Scotland has in abundance is weather! Oh, the other thing – magnificent scenery!
Yes, lots and lots of weather!
So beautiful!
🙂
It looks like a beautiful part of the world – and such a romantic story!
It is wonderfully rugged and romantic out there.
History, archaeology and natural beauty. Who could ask for more?
A good combination 🙂
Thanks for sharing this. Being also a big fan of Lord Pitsligo, it was lovely to see his cave.
I was delighted to find his cave! Bare-Arsed Banditti is currently sitting on my coffee table; I enjoyed reading about Lord Pitsligo there 🙂
Caving his fun and I love the adventures you cover here in your blog. What a scenery! You sure are enjoying summer from the looks of it. 🙂
Turning quite autumny here now, but still enjoying 🙂
I love this part of the coast, but have never been able to take such good photographs of it. And I have joined the Alexander Forbes fan club, in fact am re-imagining his life in a novel
It’s a shame that you couldn’t explore the cave, but I applaud you for finding it! It’s an interesting bit of history.
It is, and a great walk!
I wonder why Lord Pitsligo’s son didn’t join him in the ’45 , when Forbes senior was over sixty and suffering from asthma, and the son would have been in this 30s. Any ideas?
Wonderful photos of searching for the cave. Great conversations here on Lord Pitsligo, who I have not heard of before.
An intriguing character.
Stunning scenery and a history lesson.
It is a beautiful place.
What a remarkable day of exploration. The sights must have been breathtaking… the photos are! I’m glad you were rewarded with finding the cave.
It is a stunning piece of coastline.
That does look like a nice place to visit.
It really is.