ULLAPOOL: trip to the BONE CAVES [2010]. Advert free Video!

Them bones. 'Bones, caves and bleak lands' is what it states on the signpost and thats exactly what is here. You may find it hard to imagine that Polar Bears once lived here in Scotland but on this bitterly cold, bleak, snow-showery 'summer' day it certainly wasn't too difficult to imagine! The Bone Caves have been designated as an Ancient Monument by Historic Scotland and also as a Site of Scientific Interest by Scottish National Heritage and only requires a short hillwalk to reach them.

This is the route to the 815m Corbett BREABAG meaning 'little height' while looking back reveals the view of the 847m Corbett CANISP meaning 'white hill'. An engraved stone on the path at a junction indicates the route to the mountain and for us on this trip anyway the route to those caves. I've never seen a road sign used on a mountain path before so the 'falling rocks' sign on the hillside path must be at least somewhat perhaps unique.

These amazing caves have been named Fox's Den, Bone Cave, Reindeer Cave and Badger Cave and it was during a 1925 visit by geologist J.E.Cree that the incisor tooth of a bear and two pieces of reindeer antler were found. The following year Badger Cave and Reindeer Cave were excavated and more items were found. Nearly 1000 fragments of reindeer antler have been found some of which date back to over 47000 years.

So, Arctic Fox, Polar Bears and Northern Lynx as well as many other animals have left their mark up in these Bone Caves in this Inchnadamph National Nature Reserve. On this occasion though it was our turn to shiver in them. The actual Reserve itself was previously a resting place for cattle during the drives to market in Falkirk. The four north-facing caves look out from the base of the limestone Creag nan Uamh over the Allt nan Uamh glen. At the head of this glen, would-be Corbeteers will encounter the ancient calving grounds of the reindeer on the slopes of BREABAG.

Reindeer Cave and Bone Cave are connected by a narrow passage that children can apparently negotiate! The most interesting find in the cave really has to be the discovery in 1927 of a Polar Bear cranium aged at around 18,855 years old! There is no evidence to suggest that people ever lived in the caves although they may have been used on hunting trips; the caves have been mainly inhabited by animals. The Polar Bear skull and some reindeer antlers are on permanent display in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

At a car-park some 5km north of Ledmore on the A837 a path departs passing some small Falls before following the steep and winding path to the Bone Caves where you are treading in the footsteps of some of our best known explorers. It is said of Ben Peach that, when working in the Northwest, he would work long hours and then take every third day off and go fishing. So they obviously took sickies in the old days as well then. Anyway, he may not have had much luck because there are no lochs up the glen of Allt nan Uamh, and not much in the way of rivers either, but world-famous geologists Peach and Horne found something just as rewarding. While surveying the geology of the area, they came across the Creag nan Uamh Bone Caves and in 1889 they partially excavated the mouth of one of them and found pieces of animal bones. Peach and Horne found the remains of animals that incredibly once roamed the Scottish Highlands including Lynx, Polar Bear, Arctic fox and Lemmings.

The Moine Thrust runs through the area and the nearby Inchnadamph Hotel is apparently still a mecca for geologists. Its a pity that the Public Bar doesn't appear to be open to the Public now although I can remember sitting in the bar here many years ago after having just climbed Conival and Ben More Assynt. Nearby there is a monument on the other side of the road to the work of Ben Peach and John Horne whose work was so crucial in the understanding of this, the first thrust fault to be discovered anywhere in the world. The monument's inscription reads: "To Ben N Peach and John Horne who played the foremost part in unravelling the geological structure of the North West Highlands 1883-1897. An international tribute. Erected 1980". The hotel retains a copy of the guest book signed by many prominent geologists of the day who visited during the 1912 British Association for the Advancement of Science excursion to Assynt.

Well, this certainly was a fascinating hike to the caves where the remains of the last known wild Polar Bear to live in Britain were discovered.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• roddymck
• Scotland
• BONE
• CAVES
• BREABAG
• OneTrueMedia

[dezsanderson]

great video, thanks

[mrodoc]

You might be interested in these two!

[mrodoc]

For those interested to know more see 'A walk to Anus Cave' which has a commentary about the valley and it's caves and also see 'A trip into Anus Cave' that features the cave.

[Jaybo61]

Superb; visited the Bone Caves two summers past with my boys (we had a bit better weather than you); a destination I would recommend to anyone.

Thanks for sharing your video. J