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Dynamite Cave

Whiting Ness, Arbroath, Angus, (Forfarshire).

Raised Sea Cave (supratidal).

Low, wide passage with a boulder floor within the NE corner of the wide, shingle-filled Horseshoe Bay. Formerly used for the storage of explosives for the adjacent quarries (pre-1904). This seemingly small cave may be a superficial void within a blocked entrance to a significant cave approx. 150-200 ft long, owing to a 19th Century collapse / slump. See notes section below.

"The natural features near Arbroath and northwards that have fairly 'prosaic' names include the Dynamite Cave, named of course because it was used to store this material." [Angus Folklore]

"There are other caverns near the Stalactite Cave, and one of them, close to the Ness, has of late [c. 1886] had bestowed upon it the name of the Dynamite Cave, from its having been used for storing that explosive. At the Ness we are at the Arbroath end of the cliffs, and in a field adjoining the path leading up to the top of the headland come to St. Ninian's Well, a spring whose water percolates into a rock -basin beside the path." [Broadie, 1904?]

Alternative Names: Stalactite Cave, Arbroath Cave [1]

Notes: Alternative name of 'Stalactite Cave' not to be confused with the significantly larger Stalactite Cave located further along the coast [see registry site #4641].

Access: From the E end of Victoria Park, in the bottom half of the tide, onto the foreshore and past Whiting Ness.

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Interestingly, this locality appears to be labelled 'Stalactite Cave' on the 1862 (25"),1865 (6") & 1903 (25") OS maps, even though the term had already been (and remains) in use for the larger cave 220m further NE, as documented by George Hay in 1876.

"Stalactite Cave: A cave situated at Whiting Ness and said to be of considerable extent; the entrance, which is in the east side of which is called "The Horse Shoe" is now closed with earth." [OS Namebook, 1859]

"The quarry was accessible only at ebb tide, and there may still be seen the cart track, cut through the rock, by which it was reached. It is here that we come across the first of the many caves which occur on this coast, and which, with the great sea cliffs, form a striking natural feature of the immediate neighbourhood of Arbroath. Boys occasionally enter this cavern, and also another [Barricaded Cave, registry site #1663] a short distance further along the shore ; but the access is so difficult, that probably they have been explored by but few grown-up persons. The entrance to the first is about five feet high, with a width varying from one to three feet. The explorer, when he has passed through this aperture, and has lighted his taper, finds himself in a fissure of the rock on an average width of about 14 feet, with a sloping roof. The fissure extends inland about 150 or 200 feet, and there are many stalactites on its roof & walls." [G. Hay, 1867]

The low nature of Dynamite Cave, the significant earth mound in front of its entrance (remains of retaining wall evident), and its location at the eastern end of the quarried-out embayment which OS maps clearly interpret as being the 'Horse Shoe', are all in fitting with the OS Namebook description. Furthermore, a number of minor speleothem encrustations can be seen around its entrance area. as such, digging of this entrance area may well pay dividends should the inner sections of any larger cave have avoided infill, although this section of coastline is within a SSSI and as such probably (legally) requires permission.

Whilst there is ambiguity over whether the Stalactite Cave label on OS maps refers to Dynamite or Web Cave, it is difficult to envisage the neighbouring Web Cave as being 'closed with earth', particularly with the tall entrance area being tidal. However, Web Cave does indeed have a sloping roof along a fissure, & George Hay specifically describes three un-named caves between the old quarry and the section of cliff to the east, with the second & third undoubtedly being Barricaded Cave & Stalactite Cave, hence it seems odd that Hay would omit (what has since been named) Web Cave in his otherwise detailed description of this particular section of coastline. Importantly, a contradiction exists regarding the 'Stalactite Cave' label on OS maps, as a discrete small arc symbol (used to mark the location of caves on the neighbouring XLVI.12 sheet) is shown at Dynamite Cave on the OS 1st Ed. 25" map - See screenshot of OS map in links/resources below, on which no such symbol is shown at Web Cave. However, on the 1968 Ed., the 'Stalactite Cave' label clearly refers to the mouth of Web Cave, as opposed to the additional symbol at Dynamite Cave that is simply labelled 'Cave'. This could potentially be an evolution from labelling on the 1959 edition whereby the Stalactite Cave label has been shifted E closer to Web Cave, possibly to avoid overlap with the label for 'The Horse Shoe'.

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NGR and description by Iain Greig 18 Aug 20. Altitude is a guess by nigelF (rounded down from 10 to 7 m from my own personal notes, John Crae - my memory is of it being closer to the high water level).