Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Merryn Glover

Country diary: A dreadful den of murder and thievery – or is it?

Raitts Cave ‘speaks of darkness, secrets, treasures and escapees’.
Raitts Cave ‘speaks of darkness, secrets, treasures and escapees’. Photograph: Merryn Glover

The word “cave” is full of possibility. It speaks of darkness, secrets, treasures and escapees, all of which can be found in the stories of Raitts Cave, which lies in a field near the hamlet of Lynchat, Inverness-shire.

Its Gaelic name is An Uaimh Mhor, “the great cave”, and one legend claims it was built by giants, the females hollowing out the earth and carrying the soil in their aprons to dump in the River Spey, while the males cut its massive stone slabs from the hills above. Because, in fact, it is not a natural cave, but a subterranean passage, shaped like a horseshoe and lined with stone.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.