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Bennane Cave

Ballantrae, Bennane Lea, S of Bennane Head, Ayrshire.

Raised beach sea cave separated from the shore by a redundant section of the A77, near Bennane House (the A77 has been rerouted around the east side of Bennane Hill).

Triangular section, 8 m wide x 6 m high vertical wall to south with roof sloping down to the floor to the north. Mortared masonry wall across the entrance to the cave with a blocked window and the remains of a fireplace . 20 m in the section is reduced to 3 m high x 2.5 m wide where a second mortared masonry wall and doorway separates the front and rear of the cave. 4 m further in the lowering roof meets the earth floor.

"A cavern more than 100ft long, 30ft high and 20ft wide, which has been strongly defended by a wall of crude masonry 5ft thick, parts of which remain at the mouth, attached to the rock both above and below. The entrance has been further protected by a breast work in front, which appears to have been flanked by smaller buildings. The cave is divided into two compartments by two stone walls and appears to have been inhabited in recent as well as ancient years. The outer wall has a door, window and fireplace, but the inner compartment is dungeon-like with only a door in the wall." - J. Paterson, 1847

A long cave with a slight curve in the centre from NE to east, as described by previous authorities. The walls have no trace of inscriptions. The entrance is covered by a second wall of rubble masonry about 0.4m high. On the rocks above the wall there are traces of mortar, which probably indicates the complete walling-up of this entrance, apart from the door. On the inside of the wall, which is 0.5m thick, is a fireplace, and near the door, is a window now completely filled in. [Canmore]

The earliest known reference to a cave at Bennen (sic Bennane) is in 1573 when a crown charter granted Hew Kennedie eldest son and heir of Katherine Kennedie of Bennen of the lands of Bennen viz. 2 merkland of Bennen with the manor and the cave, 4 merkland of Balcruquhan and Trowag, and half merkland of Leffinclery, with the office of "sarjand and mair of fie" of the bailiary of Carrik, which belonged to his said mother and were resigned by her; reserving the said Katherine's liferent.

The Kennedy association is continued in 1681 when an Instrument of sasine by James Whytfoird of Dindufe bailie depute of Carrick on a precept from Chancery dated 3 August 1681was granted in favour of Hugh Kennedy now of Bennen as heir to his great grandfather Hugh Kennedy of Bennen in the lands of Bennen, viz the 2 merkland of Bennen with the cave (caverna), the 4 merkland of Balcreuchquhane and Trouage, the half merkland of Leffinclerie, and the office of serjeant and "Mayre of fie" of the bailliary of Carrick, which have been in non-entry for 50 years or thereby.

Marked Bennane Cave on Explorer 317 aka Snebb's [or Snib's] Cave after the nickname of the troglodyte who was living in the cave at the time of the Glasgow Speleological Society visit in 1978.

The monument (a plaque on a cairn) at the car park at the top of the cliff is a memorial to Henry Ewing Torbet (SNIB) of Bennane Cave, 1912-1983.

Snib Scott was the name Henry Ewing Torbet was known by while he was resident in Bennane Cave, where he lived for the last 30 years of his life (as he never gave his own name he apparently inherited the name from a previous, c. 1920 dweller in the cave). Born in Dundee and trained as an accountant, but at 33 and engaged to be married, he left his well paid job in a Dundee bank, severed all connections and took took to the road. He became a tramp and beggar. After several arrests in the 1940s and 50s for aggressive begging in Perth and Kirkcaldy and the assault on a shopkeeper (he threw a bag of flour and two bars of soap at the shopkeeper after being refused service when he did not have ration coupons), he disappeared for a while reappearing near Arrochar before moving to a derelict miner's cottage at Waterside in Ayrshire.

For many years Snib was self sufficient. There were plenty of rabbits and left over potatoes. He combed the beaches and brought back driftwood for his fire and fish to cook on it. Instead of claiming state benefit, he gather bottles from the foreshore and exchanged them at the local shop for anything he needed. In summer, he lead an idyllic existence, often sleeping out under the stars, but winters could be especially cruel, with a south-westerly gale which made the cave almost uninhabitable. In fact this is what killed him. In December 1983, he was found in the cave suffering from pneumonia and hypothermia. He was taken to hospital but died two days later. [holeousia/UKcaving]

Those who remember the road down the Bennane Head towards Ballantrae will also remember the Bennane Cave which was walled off at the front with a doorway and window completed sometime in the 19th century but to what purpose is unknown. Just behind this wall it is very damp, but towards the back of the cave it is quite dry and has provided a home for a number of passing tramps over the years. One of the earliest known tramps to frequent this cave was a Snib Scott in the 1920's of whom little is known, but the best known occupant was Henry Ewing Torbet who lived there for twenty years until he died in 1983. As he did not at first divulge his real name he became known as Snib Scott, the name of his predecessor which he himself accepted not wishing his past circumstances to become known. He was a real gentleman, well respected by the locals for whom he did odd jobs giving good value, always refusing cash only accepting such things as food and washing facilities. Cash seemed unimportant to him as he did not even collect his pension when he became entitled to it. Perhaps that may be due to something in his past, he was born in Dundee in 1912 as Henry Ewing Torbet, worked in a local bank until his 48th birthday, when for some unknown reason he decided that enough was enough. He resigned from the bank, left his family and friends to start a new life as a tramp, wandering around Scotland working on farms to earn his keep until he came to the cave in Ballantrae which he made his home. He combed the beach for fire wood and anything else which may be useful to his solitary existence. [Dabhand]

This cave is often mistaken for Sawney Bean's Cave, in both historic and modern reports, as it has a prominent position on what was once the main coast road from Galloway into Ayrshire but this is NOT officially Sawney Bean's Cave (which is marked on modern OS maps further north and further from the road at Balcreuchan Port to the northwest of Bennane Bridge). Several modern reports [Derelict Places and Ayrshirescotland amongst others] even manage to combine both caves in the same report.

About 3½ miles north of Ballantrae, the old road passes near the mouth of a large cave that penetrates Bennan Head for 70 feet . The impressive entrance is about 30 feet high and 30 feet wide with a fine stone wall in front of it. The roof of the cave is blackened with smoke from many fires [local histories suggest the cave may have been used as a smithy] and there is a great pile of pigeon droppings in the middle of the first chamber which implies lots of pigeons roost there. Fifty feet from the entrance is another wall with a doorway leading to a small chamber which was probably used by the cave inhabitants as a bedroom. There are lots of bottles and wood on the floor, and possibly the remains of a bed.

This was the nightly refuge of gypsies and other tramps. According to Carrick tradition, it was the dwelling place of the monstrous ogre, Sawney Bean, the cannibal who had something more than justice meted out to him in Mr Crockett's romance - The Grey Man. cf Tramp's Cave. aka The Monster Cave

The cave has been formed within the Ballantrae Ophiolite Complex. In layman's terms, this is a relatively rare piece of oceanic crust which was pushed onto the continent as the now destroyed Iapetus Ocean (which formerly separated Scotland from England) closed ~480 million years ago. You can make out some pillow lavas where molten rock formerly formed 'pillows' as it erupted onto the ocean floor and cooled almost instantly. [Uamhair, 2013]

Alternate Names: Bennane Head Cave, Bennan Head Cave, Snib Scott's Cave, Tramp's Cave, The Monster Cave, Snib's cave, Snebb's Cave

Notes: Do not confuse Bennan Head, Arran with Bennane Head, Ayrshire.

Bennane Cave is marked as a historic site on early OS maps: Sawney Bean's Cave (which takes its name from a fictional robber and cannibal) is not. The legend (and possible existence) of Sawney Bean is discussed elsewhere. See Sawney Bean's Cave.

Hydrographic Feeds: Now None, previously Irish Sea.

Hydrographic Resurgences: Now None, previously Irish Sea.