Dovat Cave

A NE facing, wide mouthed, partly subtidal seacave with its E wall going up at 50 degrees from vertical with the dip of the strata. The W side also goes up at this angle until it reaches the jagged edges of layers which have been eroded away to form the cave. There is a pale beach of breeze block sized boulders. On the E side, there is a narrow rift channel, tight to the wall, approx 3m wide which goes on past the main beach. The 1st Ed OS length is credible by eye. The walls are coloured by orange lichens and green algae. It is frequented by shags and by doves.

Notes: Access: By sea. Note that the main beach is of large boulders except at high high tide. The SE channel appears to end in a narrow beach.

Links and Resources:

1st Ed 24 inch OS for name, general location and for estimate of length.
NGR based on Canmore Aerial.
OS Namebook for the parish of Rathven, Banffshire, p32 has"Dovat Cave: A large natural cavern on the coast, difficult of access, and situated between the Red Foot and The Girdles."
Photo 1 shows the entrance at 15:25 BST on 6 Aug 20. The tide level was 3.7 m (Tides4fishing)
Photo 2 also the entrance, a bit closer at 13:41 BST on 22 Sep 21. The tide level was 4.1 m.
Photo 3 looking into the E channel - taken just after photo 1. The bronze colour is from the algal crust Hildenbrandia rubra.
Photo 4 about half way along the E channel, taken at 16:37 BST on 10 Aug 20. The tide level was 3.2 m (Tides4fishing).
Photo 5 a bit further along the E channel, taken just after photo 4. The beach can be seen with a hint of the rift extending beyond it, somewhat.

This entry was last updated: 2021-09-25 19:01:03

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

NGR:	NJ 49570 68650
WGS84:	57.70481, -2.84787
Length:	51 m
Vert. Range:	15 m
Altitude:	-1 m
Geology:	Cullen Quartzite Formation (Dalradian metamorphic)
Tags:	Cave, SeaCave
Registry:	main

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