Cave of Sparkles

A well supratidal cave at the join of the vertical cliff to the talus slope. Quite a low, wide entrance intitially. Tunnel continues as a narrow rift on right (SW). Faces 320 (NW) and then turns to 300 (NW by W) for the last 7 m. About 7.4 m in it widens to 2.8 m on the right (SW). It had very fine sparkles on the SW side before reaching the wider chamber on 24/5/24.

by land from the coastal cliff path from Findochty or the nearer cemetary and down to the shore from about NJ 4778 6852.

Measured for length on 24/5/24 by N Feilden. Altitude is based on OS contours and is asl.

Links and Resources:

Not indicated on any OS map layer.
Photo 1 shows the entrance just right of centre, looking up the talus slope. Taken 24/5/24.
Photo 2 entrance from near the top of the talus ridge. The white objects are whale or dolphin bones (vertebrae), with a couple of ribs behind.
Photo 3 entrance from a position up the talus slope on the west side. Taken 22/2/25.
Photo 4 shows the way in to the cave tunnel. This was not visible in photo 2, but is visible in photo 3. Taken 25/4/24.
Photo 5 just inside showing sparkles on the right (SW).
Photo 6 an attempt to photograph the sparkles in the light of a headtorch. It was better by eye. It is thought to be a crust made by mycelium forming bacteria on which water droplets do not form a wetted film.
Photo 7 the wider part of the tunnel between 7.4 m in and 14.2 m inside. It is 2.8 m wide and 2.4 m floor to ceiling.
Photo 8 looking beyond the wider chamber to the end of the tunnel. It turns 20 deg left (NE). Note the rounded beach pebbles.
Photo 9 looking back to the entrance. It is basically a missing layer cave, and follows the strike of the Cullen quartzite layers.

This entry was last updated: 2025-02-25 18:58:00

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

NGR:	NJ 47720 68527
WGS84:	57.70349, -2.87888
Length:	20.2 m
Vert. Range:	2.4 m
Altitude:	18 m
Geology:	Cullen Quartzite Formation - quartzite, psammite & semipelite
Tags:	Cave, SeaCave
Registry:	main

Other Sites Within 500m