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Allt nan Uamh [Overview]

Allt nan Uamh, Sutherland.

NGR:NC 25325 17895
WGS84:58.11544, -4.96685
Length:Not recorded
Vert. Range:Not recorded
Altitude:Not recorded
Geology:Not recorded
Tags:Other, SSSI
Registry:second

Generic reference to the caves an the Allt nan Uamh catchment area.

The Allt nam Uamh valley differs from the Traligill valley to the north in being much narrower for most of its extent, sandwiched between the two hills for Beinn nan Cnaimhseag and Beinn an Fhuarain and showing the typical hyperbolic cross-section of a glaciated valley. It steep slopes are layered with weathered rock debris over glacial deposits, covered in peat and heather so outcrops of dolostone are largely restricted to crags on the valley sides. Clear footpaths have been designed to allow tourists to take in the Creag nan Uamh (Inchnadamph) Bone Caves but to visit the the other cave sites visitors need to follow less conspicuous routes, narrow paths initiated by animals and enlarged by deerstalkers and more adventurous hillwalkers. Cave and karst features extend up the valley from Fuaran Rising past the Bone Caves to the Allt nan Uamh Stream Cave and above the south side of the valley to the Rana Hole and the streamway entrances to the Claonaite System.

From the car park visitors follow the path which rises steadily towards the left-hand (north) shoulder of a pronounced waterfall. A sheet of dark-green vosgesite acts as an impermeable barrier to percolation of groundwater in the dolostone. On the south bank the ruins of a building can just be spotted. This was once a (18th century) mill which took water from the stream to power a mill wheel. Above the waterfall and about 800 m from the car park a conspicuous, high volume, spring Fuaran Allt nan Uamh (or Fuaran Rising) emerges from the north bank. Above this spring in dry weather the water of the stream disappears below ground leaving the large rounded boulders of the streambed eerily dry but if even slightly wet, a trickle of water can be traced intermittently between risings hidden deep in the rocks. The drier the weather, the fewer the trickles and the closer to the rising these springs appear. Conversely at the top of the valley (2 km further east) water trickles over another waterfall and disappears into the rocks only running on the surface in wet weather and gradually running further downhill only as the underground channels fill with water.

From above Fuaran Rising the white dolostone of Creag nan Uamh can be seen in the distance (less than 1 km). The path continues alongside the mostly dry streambed (if not dry then it is probably a very wet day). About 500 m from Fuaran Rising another unusual spring can sometimes be spotted on an islet in the streambed. A hollow in the centre of a grassy knoll miraculously spouts a small column of water . In dry conditions the hollow is a shallow pit with large boulders at it base giving it the nickname the Elephant Trap. Immediately downstream from this more conventional risings appear in the streambed and on the left-hand bank. About 100 m above the Elephant trap the tourist path splits to give a choice of routes the left-hand branch heads along the valley floor to an upper ford before looping back and climbing steeply back to the Bone Caves while the right-hand branch completing the loop crosses the streambed and climbs more directly diagonally up the hillside on the south bank and from the high ground to the south, a line of prominent shakeholes can be seen in the moorland north of the tourist route.

At the base of the cliffs at Creag nan Uam are the Bone Caves, 3 reasonably large and 5 smaller caves or rockshelters. See (1) Badger Cave, (2) Reindeer Cave, (3) Bone Cave, (4) Foxes' Den, (5), (6), (7), (7b) and (8), while at the foot of the talus slope below the caves are Otter Hole, Lower Otter Hole and Lower Lower Otter Hole. Further up hill, the main Allt nan Uamh valley passes the entrances to Uamh nan Clogaidean a Bha Air Chall (UNCABAC), Bear Cave and the Allt nan Uamh Stream Cave (ANUSC) before reaching an igneous intrusion, the (sometimes dry) step, which in wet weather produces an impressive waterfall. The small stream below the waterfall normally disappears immediately into the rocks but in wet weather it flows along the surface gradually filling underground voids until the full stream bed fills with water (reaching almost to the top of the dam at the entrance to ANUSC). Beyond the Allt nan Uamh waterfall the ground between Breabag and Beinn nan Cnaimseag is largely featureless moorland but in a hanging valley at high level is Uamh Ard (High Cave).

On the hillside to the south of Creag nan Uamh is Rana Hole, the upper (relatively dry) entrance to the Rana/Claonaite System (currently the longest known cave in Scotland . NOTE: the entrance to Rana Hole is gated because of the nature of the 28m vertical entrance shaft and the cave should only be entered by experienced cavers with the proper equipment. The original lower entrance (Uamh nan Claonaite) is at the base of a small rock cliff in a shakehole near the head of the normally dry (boggy) Claonaite valley (a tributary of the Allt nan Uamh). In wet weather, Lochan Claonaite overflows into the streamway and pours into the entrance to the cave. The surrounding boggy ground produces many small surface streams which feed into the natural underground drainage system. To the south, there are numerous shakeholes on the broad sloping plateau (An Claonaite) to the west and east of the Claonaite valley (above Creag nan Uamh) between Beinn an Fhuarainn and Creag Liath most are flooded but some hold smaller caves. See Campbell's Cave, 4Gs and Poll Damaclean amongst others.

Alternate Names: None recorded.

Notes: Coordinates given are for the 'Fish Farm' carpark at the bottom of the valley. There is NO cave at this location.

Guided walks have been published by Lawson (2002) and Goodenough et al. (2004).

Allt nan Uamh means Stream of the Caves in Gaelic. Fuaran (or Fhuarainn) means spring . An Claonaite is the sloping place (although Uamh an Clainaite is the Cave of the Sloping Rock).

See individual caves for details.

Hydrographic Feeds: Allt nan Uamh basin and An Claonaite plateau

Hydrographic Resurgences: Allt nan Uamh

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This entry was last updated: 2023-02-01 14:17:31

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