Harthill's Cave

Interesting top with rocky summit & a line of granite tor exposures descending to the north is almost an arête. Some fine rock scenery. About half way down (45 m vertically, 160 m North from summit cairn) the rocky "arête" is Harthill's Cave. Here, the notorious Leith, laird of Harthill, hid & watched his Castle burn having supposedly set fire to it to spite his creditors (see 'The Leiths of Harthill' below). Later on, it is one of the caves in which the Lord (of) Pitsligo hid during the 18 years that he was on the run after Culloden. See also Lord Pitsligo's Cave on the North Aberdeenshire coast.

The entrance is low (0.79 m) but it gets to 1.36m at its tallest inside. The diagonal width inside is 4.9 m - so a number of people could be accommodated in poor weather conditions. It has a ceiling which is the underside of an uncracked granite slab 0.4 m or so thick, with others above that, in layers, looking rather like a pile of pitta breads. The slabs dip approximately NW at roughly 20 degrees. The floor is peaty and damp, speckled with quartz sand particles. The entrance, looking from outside, appears to be 1 m wide, but inside, you see that it actually has a narrow slot open to the W side, adding a further 1.2 m. There is no very obvious sign of man-made enlargement, nor is it a 'rock jumble' cavity formed by falling rocks.

A steep, vestigial path descends to Nursery Cottage, but is only recommended for sure footed.

There was a Roman camp, on the North side of the river Ury, near Durno. Bearing in mind the fort on Mither Tap, this cave - if it existed back then - would have been handy as a lookout post in that direction. The Roman Camp location is not visible from Mither Tap because of the shape of the Bennachie massif. This cave has a clear view of everything immediately north of the massif.

Access: shortest is from Back o' Bennachie car park (parking meters which take a card when working) for which the turn is on the W side of Oyne. Go up to the left (E) side of Little Oxencraig and follow signs 'Mither Tap quarry trail'.

Links and Resources:

Oldham, Tony, 2007, Caves of Scotland: A Bibliography, p. 28.
The Leiths of Harthill makes it clear that the Leith who burnt his family's tower house was not the infamous John Leith of Harthill or his grandson John Gordon, son of his daughter Anna Leith (the actual last Laird, a ward of John Leith of New Leslie), but either William or Patrick Leith (son of one of John Leith's brothers who had disputed John Leith's ownership (c. 1660). Their families continued to dispute ownership until some time after 1693 when the son (who never was Laird) was deeply in debt due to ongoing legal costs. The property was sold to Erskine of Pittodrie.
Bennapedia Search for Harthill to find a couple of photos.
Photo 1 is of the entrance. The Bennapedia closeup appears to be the same as this - look for the sharp pointed rock on the left side of the entrance. Note also the walking pole on that side which gives it some scale.
Photo 2 entrance from a bit further downhill. Note that the camera is pointed significantly upward - see photo 4.
Photo 3 panned a bit left from photo 2 showing the outcrops up towards the summit.
Photo 4 shows Craigshannock from the W side. Taken from the path near Little Oxencraig.
Photo 5 inside looking half left (SE). The white object is an A5 notebook.
Photo 6 inside looking straight on (S).
Photo 7 inside looking half right (SW).
Photo 8 inside looking right (W).
Photo 9 inside looking WNW and showing the W end of the entrance 'window'.
moab.in/bennachie-overnight-tour/ has photos from inside this cave, where the author spent a night.

This entry was last updated: 2023-02-08 13:40:44

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NGR:	NJ 67152 23365
WGS84:	57.29969, -2.54675
Length:	3.44 m
Vert. Range:	1.36 m
Altitude:	435 m
Geology:	Bennachie Pluton - leucogranite
Tags:	Cave
Registry:	main

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