📌 Ballantrae, South Ayrshire
★★★
It’s a story guaranteed to send a shiver down many a spine; folklore tells that Sawney Bean was the head of a cannibalistic Scottish clan that inhabited a deep sea cave on the South Ayrshire coast. Each night Sawney, his equally savage spouse and two generations of their offspring would ambush unwary travellers on the nearby highway: their dismembered bodies forming the staple of a murderous diet. We can’t vouch for how much of the tale is true, but you can still travel along the highway (today the A77) where the ambushes may have happened, then follow in the clan’s footsteps down to the cave where victims may have been devoured. The cave is a couple of hundred metres long, pitch black at the back (torches required), and has a distinct chill even at the height of summer. You might even have company, but of pigeons rather than Sawney’s descendants. Graffiti covers the walls – oddly making the place seem all the more menacing – but thankfully no body parts are to be seen. The cave entrance is tidal and the best light falls on the bay late in the day – detailed directions are below.
🌍 Location
📌 North end of Balcreuchan Bay, off A77 3 mi north of Ballantrae
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 099876
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.146325,-4.983929
🚌 Bus apparently stops immediately south of car park, but no bus stop evident
🚗 Car park at 🧭 NX 100875 / 🛰️ 55.145251,-4.982976
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open, tides permitting (see below)
🎫 Free
💬 The cave is labelled on 1:25000 and 1:50000 O.S. maps, and in real life appears as a vertical slit at the north end of Balcreuchan Port (a beach). From the car park it’s a 10-min walk / scramble (each way) to the cave (⬤ Tough). Follow the faint, grassy path north and then west from the layby, along the cliffs to the north end of the bay. The descent to the shore is on a very steep, often muddy path – care needed. The cave entrance should be obvious, with a scramble over a large boulder (hands needed) to reach the entrance. The approach to the cave is just below the high tide mark – though it was OK an hour before high water on our visit.
