Chapter 3
Mermaid's Cave, The Dark Depths of Dunluce
I’ve passed Dunluce Castle many times on my journeys along the North Antrim coast. It’s certainly worth seeing. However, in its dark depths lies a cave of enormous proportions that is every bit as grand as the castle sitting above it. This magnificent cave is the third I've tackled in the course of this ongoing project to photograph the secret sea caverns of County Antrim. The project has uncovered some fascinating old stories and this cave again threw up some classic material.
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Beneath the immense fortress is a cavern of proportionate vastness; its vault is more than sixty feet high, and its length exceeds three hundred feet. The sea enters it with a roaring sound. Above is the dread tower, where the Banshee of the Macquillains, the ancient lords of Dunluce, appears. I passed under its walls; there is the turret of Mava. I was desired to remark how carefully it was swept."Who undertakes that office?" I asked. " No living being," was the answer. " Every night this prison-like chamber is cleaned like a ball-room, and yet no one enters it." " Who then keeps it in order?" "Mava, the sweeper of Dunluce, and the Banshee of the Macquillains."
The Three Kingdoms: England, Scotland, Ireland
Charles Victor P. Arlincourt, Published 1844
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Dunluce Castle, W.H.Bartlett
The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland, Published 1842
I found a subterranean passage admitting to and from the sea, giving access to the ocean from the castle, entirely independent of the mainland. An army could march through it, to embark or re-embark, with all necessary ammunition—with artillery even. And the doubt is— whether it was made by the hand of man or of God. If by the former, the task must have been immense. It passes directly under the centre of the fortress, making a channel for the sea, which at flood tide will float boats half the way in. It has an irregular arched roof, and is generally, after one has got into it, thirty feet high and twenty feet broad. As I entered alone, not anticipating such a scene, and received the salutation of the mighty waters, which came rushing, and murmuring, and bellowing into that deep and dark cavern—it was awful.
Four Years in Great Britain
Calvin Colton, Published 1836
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Unlike the first two caves visited during the course of this project, this one is straightforward to find and relatively safe to explore. However, the path down to the cave is currently closed for a rather lengthy "repair" so if you choose to ignore the sign then you should proceed with caution. Entrance to the cave is down an eroding ramp which gives it a superb subterranean feel. You can almost feel the weight of the mighty castle straining above.
On my visit to this cavern I was accompanied by a photographer friend of mine by the name of Sean Arrow. This gave me a good opportunity to include myself in the shot and give the cave a sense of scale which I felt was lacking in the first two caves in my series. After setting up the camera on the tripod and programing the 5 exposures needed, I was able to descend to the waters edge while Sean released the shutter. Again, a series of exposures was chosen to overcome the huge contrast range in the cave and its mouth. The final image was created using a High Dynamic Range (HDR) blend of the 5 exposures.
So there I stand, dwarfed by the enormity of the cavern and the thousands (perhaps millions) of tonnes of rock overhead. Natures very own cathedral.
5P3 © Andy McInroy
Continue to the next chapter in the story.
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