Balcreuchan Port
| Balcreuchan Port | |
|---|---|
| Ballantrae, Scotland GB grid reference NX908878 | |
 Balcreuchan Port and Cave | |
  Balcreuchan Port | |
| Coordinates | 55°08′44″N 4°59′04″W / 55.145565°N 4.9845220°W |
Balcreuchan Port or Balcruachan Port (NX0908878)[1] is a bay and raised beach site in the parish of Colmonell, close to Bennane Head and Port Vad (NX091870) in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is well known for its cave (NX099876) with its links to the legend of Sawney Bean and also for the unusual geology that is found in the bay. It was a minor fishing harbour up until the mid to late 19th century.
Infrastructure
The first edition of the OS Map shows that a channel in the bay that had been cleared of stones to permit the safe landing of boats.[2] The channel remnants are currently still visible at low tide (Datum 2020). No other artificial features diretcly related to the port itself have been observed.
History
The name 'Port' is indicative of its use and Balcreuchan is Gaelic with the first 'Bal' part meaning a farmstead. A farm of that name is shown slightly inland from the port.[3] The 'creuchan' may be from crìochan, borders or bounds as in 'Na Crìochan', 'the Borders', and 'Na Garbh Chrìochan' - 'the rough bounds/Highlands'. The Balcreuchan Burn runs to the coast just east of the port up to the area of Knockormal Hill and the 'Lochton' place names suggests a more substantial flow at one time.[4]
This remote area is well known for smuggling in the past although no specific details linked to Balcreuchan are known to exist.
The port
It is described as a "Small Creek or indentation of the sea Coast where there is a Small flat beach. Composed of Shingle & boulders."[5] The Scotlands Places site records that boats were pulled up onto the beach and secured here in the summer months.[5] Port Vad nearby has a similar record but it was more exposed to wind and wave action.[5] The nearby enclosure suggests that the bay may have been inhabited during the summer months by fishermen.
The cave
Two cave sites are linked with the legend of Sawney Bean, Balcreuchan being often quoted,[6] the other being Bennane Cave a short distance down the coast towards Ballantrae. In some cases the name Bennane Cave is given however the description and / or photographs match Balcreuchan Cave.[7][8][9] It is on record in 1912 that tramps and gypsies used Balcreuchan Cave for overnight stays.[10]
The cave itself is damp, about seventy feet deep and is accessed by a gully through the rocks that is flooded when the tide is high. It is said that the cave once ran for a mile or more into the headland.[10]
The enclosure
The First Edition of the OS Map shows the presence of a walled enclosure of circa one third of an acre on the raised beach area to the south of the bay running up to and sheltered by a headland and well above the high tide mark on the raised beach.[2] The enclosure has four or so divisions and sub-divisions. Small structures are shown with in the area that may be fishermens huts.[2] A track ran from the entrance to the enclosure along the raised beach area and then up the slope to reach the top of the cliffs having passed over the cave.[2] A hay ree for storing animal feed is marked on the OS map where the nearby Balcreuchan Burn reaches the sea.
After the first OS map the enclosure and track are progressively less recorded with just an enclosure wall indicated and then the site not marked at all.[11] This may have been a summer dwelling for fishermen with huts or sheds much like the surving example at the old Carleton Fishery just up the coast where a similar clearing of a channel on the beach of stones is shown on the OS map.[4]
The site today
_Clone,_Balcreuchan_Port,_South_Ayrshire.jpg)
The enclosure is not visible amongst the dense undergrowth although many stones are present in the area. The track from the enclosure and up the cliff slope is not discernable. As stated the area of channel cleared of stones in the bay can still be made out at low tide. The cave access has been hindered by the fall of a large boulder that must be climbed over to gain access to the cave itself. A great deal of graffiti is present on the walls of the cave. The port has no maintained path and access requires approprate footwear and great caution.
Botany
The headland above the old enclosure is the location of a rare tree for this area of Scotland, the Aspen (Populus tremula). A clone of the aspen is grows along the summit ridge.
Geology
The rocks here are a section of ancient oceanic crust around 500 million years old. This rare rock formation has formed because a fragment of oceanic crust has been emplaced onto continental crust. In the bay rocks of the upper mantle progress to igneous rocks of the oceanic crust and finally on to the sedimentary rocks of the ancient sea floor. The rarely exposed rocks of the upper mantle are visible. These are serpentinite rocks that once lay over 5 kilometres beneath the seabed. A major fault separates the serpentinites of the ancient upper mantle and the igneous rocks of the crust, cutting in front of Balcreuchan Cave which is itself formed in basalt. Towards the foreshore a prominent igneous dyke cuts through the softer serpentinite.[6]
References
Notes
- ^ Graham, Angus (1984). Old Ayrshire Harbours. AA&NHS. p. 168.
- ^ a b c d Ayrshire, Sheet LXI, Surveyed: 1855, Published:1858
- ^ Girvan. Surveyed 1846 to 1856, Published in 1863
- ^ a b Ayrshire, Sheet LXI, Surveyed in 1855, Published in 1858
- ^ a b c "Balcreuchan Port". Scotlands Places.
- ^ a b Scotland - the home of Geology
- ^ Sawney Bea. Scotland's Most Famous Cannibal
- ^ The Legend of Sawney Bean
- ^ Undiscovered Scotalnd - Sawney Bean
- ^ a b Love, Dane (2009). Legendary Ayrshire. Custom:Folklore:Tradition. Carn Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-9518128-6-0.
- ^ Ayrshire LX.SE & LXI.SW, Surveyed in 1894, Published in 1897
Sources
- Graham, Angus (1984). Old Ayrshire Harbours. AA&NHS. V.14, No.3.
