Bit more info on Spar Cave from ... a book...
SPAR CAVE NGR NG 538 129 Landranger 32 Elgol, Skye
marked on Landranger map. Also known as Sloched Altrimen (= Cave of the Nursling) and Macalister?s Cave. A 20 feet, L 310 feet, VR 30 feet.
...mermaid?s alabaster grot
Who bathes her limbs in sunless well
Deep in Straithairds enchanted cell.
Lord of the Isles
From Elgol, take the unclassified road (tar sealed) to Glasnakille. Park near the telephone kiosk at the `T? junction. Take the road to the south and seek permission to visit the cave at the second cottage. A fee of 8p per head (April 1974) is payable. The cave is situated at the end of an impressive gorge 50-60 feet high, 20-30 feet wide and 200 feet long. It is only accessible for about ? hour at low tide in settled weather. Cavers wishing to view the cave for a longer period should use a 70 foot ladder from a suitable point at the head of the gorge.
The entrance is partially bricked up with a wall 6 feet high and a large gap for a doorway. The door was blown off many years ago by a passing gun boat for target practise. Behind the wall lies an impressive entrance chamber, with a shower of water, heavily charged with CaCo3, which is being deposited on a pile of tin cans and rubbish on the floor of the cave.
The cave consists of two passages. To the right, a 60 foot long passage with a muddy ends in an impenetrable crack. To the left a 30 foot high passage leads off. After 60 feet it turns sharply to the right and ascends 30 feet over a stalagmite flow. At the top is a 20 foot high chamber, still well decorated, although according to Dr Johnson, it was badly vandalised soon after the discovery of the cave. The passage descends 10 feet to a pool of water. At the far side of the pool, the cave ends after passing though two stalagmite columns.
The cave?s alternative name is Slochd Altrimen, and is derived from a tale over a thousand years old! The daughter of a clan chieftain had a child, out of wedlock by the son of a rival chieftain. To avoid disgrace and certain death she hid the child in the cave until the feud was over and they were able to get married.
Nearby are seven other caves of varying lengths, some with stalactite formations.
SPAR CAVE NGR NG 538 129 Landranger 32 Elgol, Skye
AA 160
Anderson 1863 245-247.
Anon ND [1825?] The Caves of the Earth. 192, The Religious Tract Society, London 36-38
Anon 1830 262
BC 29 9; 34 63-64
Blacks 470-471
Black?s 1873 500-501
Carron, James Dec 2007 The Mermaid?s Secret Lair. Scottish Memories 18-19 illus.
Cooper 131
Cooper, Derek, 1979 Road to the Isles / Travellers in the Hebrides 1770-1914 198 pp, 29 figs, 8 plates, biblio, index. Routledge Kegan Paul, London. 67 & 84
Cooper, Derek 1979, reprinted 1990. Road to the Isles / Travellers to the Hebrides 1770-1914. RichardnDrew Publishing, Glasgow. 67, 84.
Cooper 1989 131-132, 184
CSS N/L 10 (4) 37-39 reprint of Lord of the Isles & notes
Daniell, W, 1820 A Voyage Round Great Britain 4 plate 133 opp 84, Longman & Co, London (Shaw 316)
Delaney 211, 213
Dempster 63-64
Fabian, Derek John 1989 The Islands of Scotland including Skye. Scottish Mountaineering Club District Guidebook, 137, 138
Gardener plate 226
Geikie 36
Geike, Sir Archibald 1906 Scottish Reminiscences. James Maclehose and Sons publishers to the University, Glasgow. 407
Gordon 1929 20-24
Gordon 1949 82, 94,
GSG 4 (1) 4-5
Haswell-Smith 143
Humble 61
Jones 9
Laughlan 96 could not get the key, so Sir Walter Scott climbed over the gate, 151.
Lockhart 283-284
MacCulloch, J A, 1905 The Misty Isle of Skye reprinted BC 29 9-13
MacCulloch 1927a 106-109, 309
MacLeay, K, 1811 A Description of Spar Cave, lately discovered on the Isle of Skye, with some Geological Remarks relative to that island. To which is subjected `The Mermaid? a poem. 1811 Edinburgh
Macpherson 38
Martin 150
Muirhead 379
Muirhead 1947 379
Murray 1810 xx
Murray 1968 262
Murray, (1894) Handbook for Scotland, reprinted 1971 David & Charles, Newton Abbot. 386, 387
Oldham, Tony 2007 The Remaining Caves of Scotland. Cardigan, published by the author. 54-55
Parker 46
RHAS 1969; RHAS 1971
Rogers 155, 159,
Scott, Sir W, Lord of the Isles canto III from Blacks
Scott, G K, 1950 The Spar Cave. Scots Mag 54 (3) Dec 237-240
Sillar 32, 152, 212
Simpson 78-79
Staniforth, R H A, 1969 Skye and Its Special Week. Climber & Rambler 8 (4) April 139-140
Storer, Ralph 1989 Skye / Walking, Scambling and Exploring. David & Charles, Newton Abbot. 125, 129-130.
Swire 229
Tindall 168
Tringham, D, [1975] Caving in Skye - Spar Cave, Elgol. Hereford Caving Club N/L [30] 29-30
