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Balnamoon's Cave

Glen Mark, Curmand Hill, Angus.

The concealed entrance of Balnamoon's Cave in the upper reaches of Glen Mark,was a matter of life or death for a rebel laird fleeing the blood-soaked battlefields of Culloden. James Carnegy, the 6th Earl of Balnamoon crept home from the battlefield. He found sanctuary at Invermark Castle, a solid stone tower built in 1526 to guard the pass from Glen Esk to Deeside but needed a more secure bolthole. Searching the remote upper reaches of Glen Mark, he discovered his safe haven in the form of a tiny cave. Lying part way up a slope littered with rocks and boulders, Carnegy set about making the hideaway habitable. He built up the front using rough stone and moss, leaving the narrowest of entrances. Today it is all but impossible to spot. During his time on the run, the fugitive split his time between the cave and Invermark Castle. Local people loyal to him brought food and warned him when Red Coats were in the area. Despite the offer of a sizeable reward for information leading to his capture, they never betrayed him. However, it was only a matter of time before he was cornered. A local Presbyterian minister heard word of his presence in Glen Mark and passed the information on to the government. The Argyll Highlanders were sent in to rout him out and, after a year hiding out, Carnegy was finally captured and taken to London for trial. Confusion over his identity (when he married in 1745 he had altered his name to Carnegy-Arbuthnott) made the trial come to a swift halt. Carnegy was pardoned and released in 1748.

To reach Balnamoon's Cave one must set off on foot from the end of the public road through Glen Esk. Beyond Lochlee Parish Church, a track strikes north, passing House of Mark. Signed for Ballater, Queen's Well and Mount Keen, the route through Glen Mark follows the old Mounth Road, an ancient right of way linking Glen Esk with Deeside. The main track veers away from the well but a grassy path, branching right, leads to it. Beneath stone arches, water gurgles up into a bowl that carries the inscription: 'Rest traveller, on this lonely green, and drink and pray for Scotland's Queen.' At Queen's Well, walkers seeking out Balnamoon's Cave branch west, leaving the Mounth Road to head into the wilder recesses of the glen. A track follows the Water of Mark upstream and in due course it must be crossed without the aid of a bridge. Higher up the glen, the path curves left to enter a gorge, flanked on both sides by brooding crags and steep slopes cascading with jagged stone. The river tumbles over great slabs of rock, pounding through deep chasms. Balnamoon's Cave is now close at hand, although it is not easy to identify in the chaotic landscape, despite being marked on the Ordnance Survey map for the area. Above the first waterfall encountered, the path emerges from heather moor on to a flat plain of grass, located below a second, higher waterfall. Once on the grass, cave hunters must bear left and head for a huge boulder topped with a crown of heather. One must bear right of this rock and continue straight on to reach the start of a narrow path, to the right of another large rock. From the grassy ground, the little path rises through heather and blaeberry bushes, passing great slabs of rock on the right to reach the cave entrance, a slender slit barely discernable from the boulders that surround it on all sides. The claustrophobic hollow within is a dark dank and soulless place, cold and infested with cobwebs. Too low to stand up in, there is space enough for a man to sleep on the rough floor of earth and stone. But desperate times called for desperate measures and, while Carnegy doubtless spent some uncomfortably restless nights in this murky cavern, at least he was safe. (James Carron)

After a mornings walking through light snow and then an hours rock hopping around the hillside looking for the tell-tale vertical slit, I was in luck. Water streaming down the back wall like a fountain, but roomy and with two heather single beds already created by some expert howffers, it inspired some mixed thoughts along the lines of "Who last slept here?" and "I'd like to give that springy bed a shot", which I duly did. But actually, I was well chuffed with my find. More than big enough to hold a crowd, lots of protection from the elements and a feeling of stepping back in time, the cave was just deep enough to be a shelter, but close enough to the sunshine to escape any strange predators that Hollywood might create. Sitting under one 500 tonne rock was scary. So to ask my initial question again, what equipment to you need to go caving deep under ground? The answer is simple. You don't need ropes, rucksack or even a helmet. You need balls. Big ones. [Challenge Kev, 2017]

Alternative Names: Balnamoan Cave, Bonnymune's Cave

Notes: 8 fig. coordinates based on Pastmap.