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Heston Island [Overview]

Auchencairn Bay, S of Dalbeattie, Hestan, S of island, Kirkcudbrightshire.

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The main cave is only accessible on foot at low water. The cave entrance is approximately 6-8 metres high and the cave penetrates about 25-30 metres deep into the island, tapering off gradually. The cave may have been deeper in the past; however washed up tree trunks, plastic debris and sand have blocked up the cave floor over the years. The main cave is home to various invertebrate lifeforms. These include the European cave spider and the common sea slater. Pigeons also roost in the caves.

Alternate Names: Heston Island Caves, Heston [Isle of] (Caves of)

Notes: Amended coordinates from Streetmap. See also references to Smugglers.

In the 18th C. the island was a centre for smugglers who stored their wares in the caves in the southwest of the island.

To the south west of the island are caves which were likely known to smugglers in the 1700s when smuggling was a commonplace activity throughout Galloway and the Isle of Man.