Walk: A well-spun tale at King’s Cave

📌 Blackwaterfoot, Isle of Arran
★★★

King’s Cave is one of a chain of caves on Arran’s west coast just north of Blackwaterfoot. Robert the Bruce is said to have had an encounter with a spider patiently spinning a web here, inspiring the king to success at the Battle of Bannockburn – though several other caves around Scotland have the same story attached to them (a web of lies then, perhaps?). Whether or not royalty once graced this coastline, the caves are impressive and King’s Cave itself (with an open gate) has some fascinating pre- and post-Christian carvings of crosses, animals, cup and ring marks, and Ogham script. Our route follows the largely wooded circuit marked out by Forest and Land Scotland; alternatively, the route can be combined with our walk around The Doon, with a short section of coast path linking the two.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish on the unclassified coast road 2 mi north of Blackwaterfoot, Isle of Arran

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NR 898315

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.531604,-5.332868

🚌 Bus to Tormore (0.5 mi to north)

🚗 Car park

📝 Key info

▶ 5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 150 m | ⌛ 1.5-2 hr

Features: 🕸 King’s Cave & other nearby caves

⬤ Easy | Excellent paths for inland parts, but steeper descent to shore & rocky shoreline section.

➡️ Clockwise circuit: start – King’s Cave via direct path through forest – follow coast north – return by northern loop – start. Route marked in red on map 🔗 here

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Bobbing seals, black guillemots (including some nesting in the caves), dragonflies.

Weather: Increasingly thick cloud, then a band of rain while sheltering in the caves. Varied wind speeds, temperature in low 20s then dropping several degrees after the front passed through.

July 2022