Mermaid's Kirk

On the Shore, on the southeast side of the parish. This name applies to a Circular Space surrounded by steep cliffs; it is dry at Low Water; the Tide enters it through a the cave/tunnel callrd Mermaid's Kirk Cave. There is no connection to the Needle's E'e as has been suggested by some recent OS versions.

This is a cove (NO 6650 4135) with a long history. When sea level was rather higher than today the now dry remnants of a high level arch (like the Needle E'e) was part of a collapsed cave. The fall of the sea to today's level was associated with the erosion of the shore, parallel to the cave, currently about 75 m in length, along a northeast trending fault so that seawater now enters the cove from the southwest. There are at least three floor levels within the cove, the lowest being the most northerly. These levels reflect falling sea levels through time (from Auchmithie trail leaflet - see below).

by sea through the Mermaid's Kirk Cave from its SW entrance, near high water and in low swell.

Links and Resources:

Scotland's Places: OS1/14/80/123. The statement in the OS Namebook " Tide enters it through a Cave or Natural tunnel from the place Known as the Needle E'e." is correct in that it comes via a tunnel, but wrong in stating that the tunnel comes from the Needle E'e. The passage from the southeast to Mermaid's Kirk goes under the Devil's Dining Room (the lower area between the Needle's E'e and the coastal path) with no direct connection.
Photo 1 is a view SW from the beach of Mermaid's Kirk near low tide. It shows an access route down the cliff on the right (NW) side.
Photo 2 shows the Mermaid's Kirk, near high tide, from the cliff to the south. The statement with this image, that it is connected to the sea through the cliffs to the right is incorrect. The channel going diagonally to the left is the NE entrance to the Mermaid's Kirk cave and it continues straight until it joins a geo/creek running south into the sea.
Photo 3 another one of Mermaid's Kirk. The way down is on the left.
Photo 4 shows the sea entrance to the tunnel shown in photo 1.
Photo 5 looking at the NW side. Note the steel handhold - very helpful because a freshwater seep makes it very slippery.
Photo 6 looking at the SE side. Note the undercutting near the beach.
Auchmithie Trail Leaflet

This entry was last updated: 2022-04-09 19:43:24

Errors or omissions in this information? Submit corrections/additions/comments for this entry to the registrars.

NGR:	NO 66506 41366
WGS84:	56.56305, -2.54658
Length:	32 m
Vert. Range:	Not recorded
Altitude:	1 m
Geology:	Burnside Sandstone Formation
Tags:	Hole
Registry:	main

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