Boiling Kettle Cave

Sea Cave facing ESE, in the east facing cliff, north of Scrabster. There is a fairly small gloup, about 20 m from the entrance, called Boiling Kettle. According to the OS Namebook, it is a blowhole in stormy weather from the east. 1st Ed OS 25 in shows a tunnel extending 47 m beyond the west end of the gloup.

From BGS 1:10000 solid, the tunnel appears to follow the south fault of a pair which coincide with The Loops.

Notes: Access: by land - north from Scrabster lighthouse to see the Boiling Kettle from above, and also the long geo (southern Loop) to the entrance.

Links and Resources:

1st Ed OS 25 in Caithness V.3 shows this cave in the southern geo of 'The Loops'.
OS Namebook, Caithness, Vol 11, parish of Thurso p39: "Boiling Kettle - The sea rushes into this hole with tremendous force in rough weather, and the spray rises a considerable distance above the surface in the form of steam, giving it the appearance of a kettle boiling, hence the name."
Photo 1 this photo from a NC500 blog is probably the geo leading this cave. It is clearly looking across Thurso Bay. On the right is a track and this matches with the one visible on Pastmap Aerial below.
Pastmap Aerial marked up to show Boiling Kettle and several other gloups on the east side of Holborn Head.
Jiim Salvona's Notebooks, 1984-1994, vol. 2, p. 147.

This entry was last updated: 2025-12-04 19:30:31

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NGR:	ND 10835 71473
WGS84:	58.62198, -3.53694
Length:	71 m
Vert. Range:	15 m
Altitude:	0 m
Geology:	Scrabster Flagstone Member-siltstone And Sandstone
Tags:	Cave, SeaCave
Registry:	main

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