Smoo Cave is situated in Durness, and is outstanding in it’s formation, as two different methods of erosion have created this wonderful place which is also the largest sea cave in Britain at 83 metres long.
Cave Divers have explored the caves further and it is believed that they are much larger than is visible, possibly double the length, but divers have been unable to verify this due to the build up of silt in the passages.
Whilst the cliffs were eroded by the sea, the limestone was internally eroded by the Allt Smoo burn, which is now the waterfall you see that drops 20 ft into the cave. Eventually these two caves formed into one. There is a third chamber which is a freshwater passage accessible by boat.
Since possibly the Mesolithic age this cave has been used in one way or the other, but there is Archaeological evidence that show there was Neolithic, Iron Age and Norse use of the caves in the form of artefacts.
Interestingly, it is thought the name Smoo come from the Norse (Smuga or smjugg) to mean ‘hiding place’.
7th July 2009
(There are no piranhas in the water, as the boatman told my daughter at the time, when she was 6)
