Ardlair Cave

This is a boulder cave on the shore of Loch Maree which opens up inside. Boat required as there are no roads on the north east side of the loch.

MacKenzie suggest that this is were Bonnie Prince Charlie sheltered after the defeat at Culloden in 1745. There are also stories of buried gold, which has never been recovered somewhere near Ardlair. The gold was supposed to be used to finance the Princes escape. Another story goes back to 500 years earlier when the cave was occupied by a pretty woman and a very young boy. The girl's name was Flora and the boy's name Ewan. MacKenzie tells the yarn in detail, but to cut a long story short, it turns out that Ewan was the son of King Olaf the Great of Mull and North Argyll.

reprinted from The New Caves of Scotland by Tony Oldham (sous presse). With kind permission.