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Mhor (Uamh) [Clashmore]

Clashmore, Sutherland.

Sea Cave. Possible hiding place of Hugh Kerr of Clashmore rioter in 1887 when evading the authorities.

The cave at Balcladdich according to local legend was the hiding place of 'rebel' leader Hugh Kerr after the Clashmore riots in 1887-88. The riots were a complex affair around the time of the crofting act, when local cottars had an expectation that the act would bring them land rights - which never materialised. Tensions grew around the use of lands at Clashmore and in April 1887 when a sheriff visited with a summons to move off the land, he was forced to kneel while the summons were burnt and told never to return. The situation escalated after a new tenant (Shipping magnate David MacBrayne) was placed on the farm that locals laid claim to with dykes regularly being broken, animals running over the land - and notably often led by the women of the parish and in particular Kerr's wife Mary Kerr. At one stage, a gun boat (the Jackal) was sent and marines landed to arrest Hugh Kerr, but it seems they failed to check the cave just around the headland and Kerr remained at large for a full 18 months before he handed himself in. There is a local story that he might have gone to Edinburgh and worked at the procurator fiscals office during that time. [Historic Assynt]

The crew of a gunboat called The Jackal was sent to capture Hugh Kerr, a ringleader of rioting, before another warship's crew arrested Kerr's wife in 1888. [BBC News]

Alternative Names: Big Cave, The Great Cave, Bogle Cave

Notes: For 3-4 years Dick Grindley tried to locate Bogle Cave somewhere near Clashmore on behalf of Peter Aikman (in responce to a request/query to Goon). The only record was a letter written by a Clashmore crofter called Hugh Kerr, who was involved in the crofting land wars of the 1880s. In 1887, he was sought by the army and police from Inverness. He fled to 'Bogle Cave' about 1 mile from his Clashmore croft. He hid in the cave for a few days supplied with food by his son (?).

Over several years Dick Grindley looked at the hillside around Clashmore for potential sites but did not come up with anything away from shore line. Some time ago, talking to an older inhabitant of Clashmore, he was told of a potential sea cave but he couldn't remember where! At one dinner weekend, he had a good look at the Balchladrich Bay beach and the cliffs at either end.

The cliffs at the north end were too low and set back from shoreline - not good sea cave country. To the south, fault lines run parallel to the cliff for 700 m and boulders at base of cliff appear to have slid gently down slope rather than sea action eroding into faults in the cliff. At the 700 m point, there is an obvious fault running into cliff and a sea cave formed at NC 0267 2960. Marked on 1:50,000 2nd Series [as Uamh Mhor] but not on 1:25,000 OS map. We believe this is Bogle Cave and added it to the database after talking to a young lady from the croft at the south end of beach. Asked if she knew of any sea cave accessible at low tide, she immediately the described above cave. At low tide, an exposed rock ledge can be used for access but "Be careful, it's very slippy!"