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Broadford and Surrounds

Spar Cave

A sea cave on the Strathaird shore near Elgol, reached on foot only around low tide, lined with flowstone and ending in a lake.

Welcome

The Spar Cave is a sea cave on the east shore of Strathaird, near Elgol, and the walk to it needs forward planning and great care.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It can be visited only for about an hour either side of low tide. A steep path leads down to the shore, and the way on is a scramble over slippery boulders and along a rock ledge into a tall gorge, where the cave lies at its head. Do not try to enter the narrow flooded inlet you pass on the way.

Once the passage turns to the right, the walls, floor and ceiling are covered in flowstone, or spar. The floor rises in a flowstone staircase that looks treacherously slippery but gives reasonable grip and can be climbed with care. Beyond the highest point it drops to a lake. Walter Scott came in 1814 and wrote about the cave in The Lord of the Isles. Take at least two torches, and watch the tide: if it comes in, you will be trapped for twelve hours until the next low tide.

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Before you go

Only for about an hour either side of low tide.

It is quite possible to be stranded: if the tide comes in, you will be trapped in the cave for twelve hours until the next low tide.

Where
At Glasnakille on the east side of Strathaird, a short drive from Elgol. The walk starts just before the cattle grid near Glasnakille (grid reference NG537130).
Tide
Only possible for about an hour either side of low tide; it is best to reach the sea shortly before low tide and to leave time to return. Admiralty EasyTide gives the tide times.
Walk
Walkhighlands gives 1.3 km, about 2 hours, with 33 metres of ascent. It advises that a visit needs forward planning and great care, and should not be underestimated.
Parking
Park considerately before the cattle grid, a short distance before the T junction at Glasnakille. There are no facilities here.
Toilets
None at the start; the nearest are in Elgol.
Getting there
There is no public transport to the start. The nearest bus is at Elgol, 2 km away.
Access
Not step-free. A steep path leads down to the shore, then comes a scramble over slippery, seaweed-covered boulders and along a rock ledge where seaweed can make it very slippery. Do not attempt to enter the narrow inlet with a flooded floor that appears after the first corner; keep on round the coast. Inside the cave the floor is wet and there is a steep scramble up the flowstone.
Bring
At least two torches, in case the batteries fail. Torches are essential.

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Did you know

Pale, ribbed calcite flowstone drapes the cave wall, catching torchlight against the dark rock around it.
Did you know

The mermaid's grotto.

Walter Scott visited in 1814 and wrote about the cave in The Lord of the Isles, where it becomes a mermaid's alabaster grot in Strathaird's enchanted cell.

Ferns grow from cracks in the gorge's layered rock walls, which rise steeply toward an overcast sky above a stony streambed.
Did you know

A wall and a cannon.

A wall once closed the head of the gorge, and Scott had to climb it on a rope. Later a passing sailor fired a cannon at it and knocked it down.

Pale rippled rock walls line a cave passage, with a shaft of light picking out the way ahead.
Did you know

The Nursing Cave.

In Gaelic it is Sloc an Altramain, the nursing cave. The story goes that a local princess who had fallen in love with a rival chief's son hid here to protect their baby.

Weathered orange-brown rock strata rise inside the gorge, with a dark recess at the base and moss growing to one side.
Did you know

Named for its crystals.

The cave was named after its spars, the calcite crystals that once covered its walls. In Victorian times it was a sort of show cave, visited by many famous travellers.

A rocky headland with layered strata rises above the sea, trees lining its clifftop above a pebble shore.
Did you know

A lake at the end.

Past the flowstone staircase the floor drops again, down a shorter stairway to a lake. The lake is the limit of exploration.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Skye

It’s not straightforward to visit this well-concealed cave – reachable only when low tide allows, and even then requiring a steep descent and a rocky scramble – but it has a magic of its own. History and legend are thick in the air here, and on a more modern note, it’s where Bear Grylls brought an overawed Ben Stiller for his TV show.

Read more
01 / 07
Where it is

At Glasnakille on the east side of Strathaird, a short drive from Elgol; the walk starts just before the cattle grid.

Close byOn Strathaird.
  1. Fishing boats moored at a stone pier beneath misty hillsBella Jane Boat Trips2 miles 3 min by road
  2. ElgolElgolA crofting village at the end of the road on Strathaird, looking across Loch Scavaig into the heart of the Black Cuillin.2 miles 3 min by road
  3. Misty Isle Boat TripsMisty Isle Boat TripsThere’s no better way to experience Skye’s coastline than by boat.2 miles 3 min by road
  4. Camasunary BayCamasunary BayA bay under Bla Bheinn on the south coast of Skye, with a grass-backed beach and a bothy, and no road to it: 9.2 km there and back from the Elgol road.5 miles 8 min by road
  5. Loch Coruisk running back between the steep walls of the Cuillin ridge under low cloud.Loch CoruiskA freshwater loch lying in a bowl of black Cuillin gabbro, three quarters of an hour by boat from Elgol and ten minutes on foot from the landing.5 miles 8 min by road
  6. Rough grass and pools on the shore at Broadford, the bay and hills beyond.BroadfordSkye's second village, strung along Broadford Bay under the Red Cuillin, a stop for fuel, food and the road south to Elgol.16 miles 22 min by road
Directions
Wooden bistro building with a stag emblem, set against a hillsideCafeElgol Bistro2.3 miles
Coruisk House's white harled exterior shows dormer windows and clustered chimneys against a grey sky.ElgolCoruisk HouseSleeps 4 · 2.6 miles
Small waterfall tumbling through moorland beneath a snow-dusted conical peakAttractionsTorrin Pools10 miles
Round table and teal chairs beneath "Stay Longer" lettering in a gift shop caféCafeAmy's Place Tea Room10 miles
Bothan Beileag, Isle of SkyeHeastaBothan BeileagSleeps 2 · 14 miles
A timber shepherd's hut with a curved roof stands on a grassy slope, a bench and picnic table in front and hills rising behind.HeastaBothan BuidheagSleeps 2 · 14 miles
A pool table under low lamps in the Gabbro Bar, a ball about to be struck.BarsThe Gabbro Bar16 miles
Shopfront sign for The Selkie Collective, advertising ethical, sustainable products and giftsShoppingThe Selkie Collective16 miles
A walker on a path above a loch beneath a steep mountain on the Skye Trail.WalksSkye Trail with Thistle Trekking16 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the cave, and when each is next free.

Coruisk House's white harled exterior shows dormer windows and clustered chimneys against a grey sky.Coruisk House
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Elgol
  • A mile from the Spar Cave
Check datesA timber shepherd's hut with a curved roof stands on a grassy slope, a bench and picnic table in front and hills rising behind.Bothan Buidheag
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Heasta
  • 7 miles from the Spar Cave
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovBothan Beileag, Isle of SkyeBothan Beileag
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Heasta
  • 7 miles from the Spar Cave
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovStonechat Bothy, a timber-clad cabin with a grey corrugated roof, at the end of a grassy double track among birch, pine and rushes.Stonechat Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Drumfearn
  • 9 miles from the Spar Cave
Free 1–4 MarPlaces to stayEvery stay in Broadford and SurroundsAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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Read on

What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Broadford and Surrounds.

From the magazineWalks, Wildlife & Nature in SkyeFrom the magazineThe Isle of Skye - Discovering the Nooks & CranniesCollectionWalks, Wildlife and Nature in SkyeCollectionSkye's Hidden Side
More in Broadford and Surrounds
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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .