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Wallace's Cave [Ayr]

Ayr, Craigie Estate, Ayrshire.

Wallace's Cave [NS 35416 21253] and Boiling Well [NS 35421 21189]. Near to the outlet of a drainage ditch (possibly a mill lade) from Bloom Bank on the Craigie Estate.

On the opposite side of the River Ayr from Wallace's Heel Well, a Wallace's Cave was located and it is said that William Wallace used it to hide from English troops. No sign of it remains.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: A mill lade is depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map on the northern side of the River Ayr within the grounds of Craigie House (now Craigie Campus of Paisley University). It is depicted on modern maps as a narrow stream or ditch. A mill is depicted on the Blaeu Atlas at about this position, to the east of a settlement called Dalmellyn (farm mill stream ), which can no longer be identified on modern maps but which may also lie within the grounds of Craigie House. It is not clear at which end of the lade the mill may have been, but it seems probable that it was at the southern end closest to Craigie House (NS 3551 2129).

It is possible the cave was just a small undercut in the riverbank or that the former mill lade has been mistaken for a cave entrance.

The association seems to be with William Wallace through the Wallace family of Craigie.

Hydrographic Feeds: River Ayr

Hydrographic Resurgences: River Ayr