This Wallace Cave is a natural geological feature situated on the West Lothian side of the River Avon near the modern "Wallace Bridge" in Muiravonside Country Park. It is in fact not a cave at all, but an arch formation with two main associated clefts.
The Wallace Cave, River Avon (2003)
According to local lore it was a hiding-place of William Wallace following his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk (1298). Other local sites associated with Wallace include Wallace's Bed on Cockleroy Hill and the Wallace Stone on Drumshoreland Muir. Click here for a location map provided by StreetMap.
Since at least Victorian times, it has been a kind of nationalist shrine to Wallace, with offerings to his memory and numerous carvings in the rock. Overall, the atmosphere is similar to that of a medieval or neo-pagan "Clootie Well". The offerings tend to be located on and around the tree shown front-left in the above photograph and are regularly added to, as the following photographs across the space of three years show:
Offerings Tree, Wallace Cave, 2003 and 2006
The majority of the offerings found here are flags (normally the Saltire or the Lion Rampant), tartan clooties, political badges & banners, candles, coins and jewellery. Flowers are also popular, and in 2006 a wreath appeared which bore a definite resemblance to the bridal crown worn by the minor Helen character in Braveheart (forcefully abducted from her wedding by an English lord invoking prima noctes):[1]
"Helen's Bridal Crown"
Indeed, the popularity of the shrine has increased since the release of the Braveheart movie in 1995,[2] and many subsequent artefacts at the site seem to follow the movie's iconography.
In addition to the various shrine offerings, there are a number of carvings to be found in the rockfaces of the structure. Most of these appear to be relatively recent, probably dating from the late twentieth century onwards, and often executed with some skill.
In the following examples we have the iconography of Wallace's sword, with the Latin slogans, Fortiter ("Valiantly") and Pro Libertate ("For Liberty"), respectively:
"Fortiter" Carving
"Pro Libertate" Carving
We also find a small carving of a heart with Saltire, reminiscent of the plaque covering the alleged burial site of Robert the Bruce's heart at Melrose Abbey:
"Saltire Heart" Carving
Finally, we have some more personal tributes including this from an otherwise unknown Farqhuar, perhaps wishing to have been a member of Wallace's army!
"Farquhar" Carving
In addition to the above, numerous graffiti covers the rock-faces dating from the last couple of centuries (photographs to follow).
thanks are due to Rachel Alden for re-inspiring an interest in the local Wallace connection
and particularly for finding several of the new carvings at this site in summer 2006
footnotes
[1] Randall Wallace, Braveheart (London: Penguin, 1995), p.62-64.
[2] Braveheart (Icon Productions, 1995).