Henry's Scorth East Cave

Note Sep 24 update below - the left (W) tunnel after the pillar, is now navigable for 30 m. It had been blocked by shingle - some time after 8 Oct 20 and probably after Mar 21.

'Rounding a Point, we are in Henry's Scorth. Another fine cave is here and is clearly the result of the sea working along a line of joint. There are only a few inches between the boat's gunwale and the jagged edges of rock. Inside, the cave widens into a large chamber ninety feet high like a cathedral nave and has fine echoes. Another narrow passage leads on to a second chamber. Beyond this, you pass into complete darkness. Close by, the sea is trampling on a hidden beach, 140 yards from the entrance and you are actually below ploughed land in a field 140 feet above your head. This cave is really dangerous to visit. A boat caught in the narrows by a sudden swell entering the cave is a doomed boat.'

The above is a pretty accurate description - except that the boat in question was probably a wooden rowing boat which would have found the approx 1.9m width of the first narrows a bit tricky. It is quite a lot easier in a modern kayak, but it still needs very low swell and a light to go as far as the beach.

The first chamber is 7.4m wide and thus easily wide enough to turn a sea-kayak round in, but further in usually requires paddling backwards to come back out. However, on 18 July 21, a little after a 1.1 m low tide, it was just possible to turn a 5.5 m kayak just to S of the dividing pillar shown in photos 8, 14, 15, 16 and on the sketch plan.

On 8 Oct 20 photos 9-13 were taken in the left (W) tunnel and its beached rift extension. But on 18 July 21, this tunnel was blocked by a shingle beach about 5-10 m along from the pillar. On the same day it was found that the S part of the N tunnel of Trough Cove had been blocked for a second year running (see entry for Trough Cove N entrance), having been unblocked between Nov 20 and Mar 21 and previously in 2019. This cave is much more difficult to enter as far as the pillar because there is nearly always too much swell.

On 17 September 24, the swell was low enough to go in as far as the dividing pillar. On the left, the beach had receded to 30 m beyond the pillar. It was not calm enough to land and so it was unclear whether the beach is as far NNW as it was in October '20. This west tunnel sometimes is tidal, and at other times is full of shingle. In 2024 two other caves have much less shingle in them - Trough Cove and Strabandra Knap Blowhole Cave.

On 19 June 25 a landing was made in the NW tunnel and the beach to the end was measured by tape and laser distance meter (LDM). The distance from tape zero to the dividing pillar was measured by LDM to a protruding lump on the W wall and kayak bow to the back of the cockpit for the 3.0 m from that lump to the dividing pillar. See photos below for more detail. No allowance has been made for the estimated 4 to 5 m vertical rise from sea level to the beach at the NNW end. The cave would undoubtedly be longer if the pebble beach was somehow removed.

This cave is used by doves, guillemots and shags above the water and by seals in it.

Notes: Access: by sea eg from Catterline. The first chamber can be entered in modest swell and is wide enough to turn a 5.5 m long kayak around in. The rest of the cave needs very low swell from the south and the bottom half of the tide.

The length is based on 5 partial length surveys: for the first 92m Aug 20, plus 45 m = 137 m to the dividing pillar 25 Aug 21 and of the last beached 49m of the W branch on 8 Oct 20 by Nigel Feilden. On 17 Sep 24, 30m was measured from the dividing pillar to the beach on that day, and 23m for the short tunnel E of the dividing pillar. On 11 June 25 a landing was made in the NW tunnel and the whole length measured to give 22 m from the dividing pillar to the landing place and a further 40.3 m to what could be seen by LDM at the end of the tunnel. The bearing of the NW tunnel was 336 degrees by hand bearing compass. VR estimated from cliff height and photo. Alt is a measured depth below chart datum at entrance.

Henry's Scorth is specifically (3) "a projecting part of the cliff called Fowls Heugh, frequented by a sea bird called the Scorth or Scarth". 'Scorth' and 'scarth' appear to be derived from the Gaelic 'sgarbh' - pronounced 'skarav' - which means shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), and this originally from Old Norse 'skarfr'. See also Scout Cave south of Eyemouth, Berwickshire.

An alternative meaning was given by Douglas Cusine in the Tollbooth Times and Stanehyve Magazine , 2018 who claimed Scorth was from Scord meaning a crevice in the rock.

Links and Resources:

The Deeside Field (Vol3, 1927), in a posthumous article by James Reid entitled 'The Caves and Birds of Fowlsheugh'
OS has a cave dot (one when, in fact, there are two caves).
OS namebook, Kincardineshire, vol 6, p 97 and 96, has 'Henry's Scorth' and 'Fail-you-never' as both applicable to the headland, rather than, as implied in the above article, the bay to the south of it.
Sketch plan drawn over an aerial view (Canmore) and based on the 5 partial length surveys noted above. The bend in the tunnel seems to roughly match a bend in the cliff edge to the right (E). The line of a fault from BGS 1:10 000 Solid and drift map has been added.
British Geological Survey 1:10 000 Solid and Drift. This shows a probable fault which appears to have a relative horizontal displacement of about 100 m of the NE side compared to the SW side. The drawn line bears 320 degrees - as can be seen on the sketch above it is rotated a bit west compared to the cave tunnel.
Photo 1 is a B&W aerial shot of both Henry's Scorth W and E entrances, with this E entrance a little right of centre. The same photo is in Canmore site 318187 Henry's Scorth Cave.
Photo 2 shows the entrances to both E and W caves from sea level.
Photo 3 taken from the cliff to the S, shows how the entrance reduces to the narrows before the first chamber.
Photo 4 shows the entrance from closer than photo 2. Taken 27 June 19.
Photo 5 was taken inside the first chamber, looking NNW along the tunnel. The ceiling is over 30m above water level.
Photo 6 was also taken inside the first chamber (20 Mar 21) but, looking out. The HDR setting on the Olympus TG6 has done a good job of minimizing sun flare and shows what I did not notice when I took it, an alignment with the headland to the south.
Photo 7 was taken inside the second chamber on 15 Aug 20, looking NNE. Note sheets of flowstone high on the right.
Photo 8 is beyond the second chamber, looking at the dividing pillar/rib. There is a shorter (23 m) tunnel on its right. The tunnel to its left carries on some way (which has varied) to a pebble beach and from there along a narrowing tunnel which ends 62 m from the dividing pillar. Photo date 9 Sep 20. Note the barnacles over 130 m inside the cave.
Photo 9 the beach in the NW tunnel, taken 8 Oct 20, as were the following photos. The ceiling was 13m above the beach at this point.
Photo 10 taken from the water's edge at 3m tide level; looking back along the tunnel the reflection is from the wall on the E side, just beyond the pillar in 9. Note how smooth the conglomerate low down is, milled by the pebbles thrashed about by incoming waves/swell. There is some flowstone sheet higher up on the right.
Photo 11 shows the first wider part of the inner beach, beyond the narrows of photo 9 above. More milled conglomerate - in places the matrix is more resistant than some of the pebbles.
Photo 12 further along the inner beach. Note sheet of flowstone at upper right.
Photo 13 is a closeup of the flowstone sheet in photo 12.
Photo 14 was taken on 18 July 21 at 16:05 BST - 1:15 after a 1.1 m low tide. Notice how the pillar is sharply narrowed below the tide level of 10.
Photo 15 - same date & time as 14. It is not very clear, but the left (W) tunnel is blocked by a shingle beach. Compare picture 10 before it was blocked. There were seals on this beach.
Photo 16 - same date & time as 14. The right tunnel is more accessible at this lower tide level. It too had a shingle beach with seals on it, but this beach was a bit further back than the left one. If the left tunnel gets unblocked at some time, will this one have shingle removed and prove to be longer than 15 m ? 17/9/24 Yes - 23 m.
Photo 17 taken from about 10 m into the left (W) branch beyond the dividing pillar. The tunnel has widened here and turned a little right. The beach line can just be made out where it meets the water a bit to the right of the kayak's bow. Seals were hauled out on the beach. Taken on 17Sep 24, when the visible top of the beach was 30 m beyond the dividing pillar.
The following photos were taken on 19 June 25 between 17:00 and 18:00 and are listed in order of increasing distance from the dividing pillar. Some face NNE towards the tunnel end, and others SSW towards the main tunnel, and some sideways and/or upwards.
Photo 18 looking back (SSE) 22 m towards the main tunnel. The tide level was 2.0 m ACD. It is clearly very similar to photo 10.
Photo 19 looking S and up into the rift. Note patches of flowstone which look somewhat aged.
Photo 20 looking up the beach (NNW) from 22 m towards the first wider part. Compare with photo 9.
Photo 21 as photo 20, but from about 27 m in. The first wider part is clearer, and the easy choke point on the way up slope and inward. Compare with photo 11. The beach level at this location appears to be exactly what is was in Oct 20.
Photo 22 looking low down on the west wall at about 27 m inside. An interesting exposure of a grey band of fine silt with conglomerate slightly mixed in top and bottom. Some thin white cracks which appear to be quartz filled.
Photo 23 looking back (SSE), from 37 m in, through the narrow bit seen the other way in photo 20. Widest part of supratidal tunnel.
Photo 24 at 37 m in, looking ENE at the widest part. Most of the width is on the E side.
Photo 25 at about 39 m in, looking inward (NNW) with the easy choke point behind the camera.
Photo 26 at about 39 m in, looking back (SSE) and down slope, through the easy choke point. The edge of the yellow paadle blade is just visible. See photo 21 for paddle location.
Photo 27 at about 45 m in, looking back (SSE) towards the easy choke point. Note the hole above.
Photo 28 at about 49 m in, looking back along the tunnel curving right (W) with the easy choke point at the end.
Photo 29 at about 50 m in, looking inward (NNW) and quite steeply upward at the fairly tight choke point. The steep slope and round pebbles gave little purchase and it is shoulder wide and didn't have enough headroom to crawl properly.
Photo 30 at about 54 m in, looking back (SSE) at the fairly tight choke point. The pebble beach was about level after going down a little after the choke point.
Photo 31 at about 54 m in, looking inwards (NNW) into the end part of the tunnel. You can see about 6 m of remaining tunnel in this photo. The last 2.7 m was measured by LDM after having crawled another 5 m or so - beyond the white dot that you can just make out.
OS map showing that OS regards (or has regarded) 'Fail you never' as the name of the headland.

This entry was last updated: 2025-06-24 19:52:07

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NGR:	NO 88045 80342
WGS84:	56.91424, -2.19796
Length:	222 m
Vert. Range:	34 m
Altitude:	-3 m
Geology:	Whitehouse Conglomerate Formation
Tags:	Cave, SeaCave, SSSI
Registry:	main

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