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Graham Castle Cave

Auchterarder, Perthshire.

This entry is based entirely on what appears to be an erroneous listing in T. Oldham's Caves of Scotland. There is no cave at the given location. See 'Castle Campbell Subterranean Passage' & notes below for details.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: 'Graham Castle Cave' is listed in Oldham's Caves of Scotland, which records Laughlan (1982) as the only reference. However, the original quotation from S. Murray (1799) noted in Laughlan (1982) states:

"When the Campbells were away, the Grahams stormed and burnt; and in return Argyle laid waste and levelled to ruins the castle of Graham, near Auchterarder. There is a small remain of a curious subterranean passage from the former inhabited part of Castle Campbell, cut in the rock down to the burn; from which the inhabitants could get water in safety, and unseen by their enemies from the heights of the surrounding mountains, when they were besieged".

Thus, while there is no mention of a cave by William Laughlan, Tony Oldham's 'Graham Castle Cave' actually refers to a man-made passage at Castle Campbell, Dollar [NS 96138 99289].

The coordinates for 'Graham Castle' seem to be based on the vague two-figure grid reference [NN 93 13] listed by Tony Oldham (located in Upper Borland Park, Castleton, Auchterarder close to the remains of the medieval Auchterarder Castle [NN 9434 1334]).

Auchterarder Castle however was not the castle of the Grahams. The 'castle of Graham' most likely refers to Old Kincardine Castle [NN 9465 1097], built by Sir David de Graham in the 14th century, near to but not actually in Auchterarder. Only fragments of this castle remain (and should not be confused with the much younger (19th century) Kincardine Castle manor, built c. 1801 [NN 94945 11449]).