Cavehill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cavehill is a basaltic hill which overlooks the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It forms part of the south eastern border of the Antrim Plateau. It is distinguished by its famous "Napoleon's Nose", a basaltic outcrop which resembles the profile of the famous emperor and is said to have inspired the famous novel Gulliver's Travels. It offers views across the city and on clear days the Isle of Man and occasionally Scotland.
Like Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, it offers a strenuous climb, just a few miles from the centre of a major connurbation. The imposing cliffs can be dangerous, with many people requiring rescue after seeking a shortcut to the summit or the higher caves.
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[edit] General
Cavehill rises to almost 370 metres (1,200 feet) above sea level. It stretches from Hazelwood in the north to Carr's Glen in the south (yet still in North Belfast). Most of its lower-east side is comprised of the Belfast Castle Estate, which has as its focal point the imposing 19th century Scottish baronial castle. The castle was designed by Charles Lanyon and constructed by the Marquess of Donegall in 1872 in The Deer Park. The slopes of Cavehill were originally used as farmland but from the 1880s a major planting exercise was undertaken, producing the now familiar deciduous and coniferous woodland landscape. Belfast Castle Estate was given to Belfast City by the Earl of Shaftesbury in 1934.
[edit] The Caves
There are 3 large caves. The lowest is 21 feet long, 18 feet wide and varies from 7 to 10 feet in height. Above this is another cave; 10 feet long, 7 feet wide and 6 feet in height. Above this is the third major cave, said to be divided into 2 unequal parts, each of which is more extensive than the larger of the other caves, but the ascent is notoriously dangerous and thus few venture to it. The caves are man-made, and it is postulated that they were originally excavated for iron-mining.
Adjacent to the lowest cave is 'The Devil's Punchbowl', also sometimes called 'The Devil's Cauldron', a site where ancient celtic farmers corraled their cattle. This is mainly comprised of a steep hill, mainly of rocks and boulders, and is considered dangerous to amateurs.
[edit] McArt's Fort
This fort, on the summit of the hill, is an example of an old ráth or ring fort. It is protected on one side by a precipice and on the others by a single ditch, 10 feet in depth and 25 feet in width; a vallum of large dimensions. The enclosed area is nearly level. The flat top of the fort is 150 feet from north to south, and 180 feet from east to west.
[edit] History
[edit] General
The hill was known in the original gaelic as Ben Madigan or the hill of Madigan, after either a king of Uladh ulaid (Ulster) Madigan, who ruled from AD 838 to 855, or a later king Madigan (AD 933-948). The later king's grandson, Eochaid Mac Ardgal, was killed at the battle of Crew Hill in 1003 - in which the Ulidians were defeated by their old enemies, the Kinel-Owen-, and it is from him that McArt's fort derived its name. Ben Madigan, a residential neighbourhood, lies at the foot of Cave Hill's entrance in a wealthy semi-outer city, semi-suburban North Belfast area.
The crowning stone Giant's Chair of the O'Neill clan was apparently sited on Cavehill summit until 1896 and gave its name to the nearby Throne Hospital. The Cavehill Throne was destroyed by loyalists in December 1896 after a reference was made to it in an article in the nationalist paper 'Shan Van Bocht'. Parts of it may be available to view at the Ulster Museum.[citation needed]
During World War II, a bomb dropped prematurely during a German bombing raid on Belfast exploded, causing a large crater near the grounds of Belfast Castle. On the 1st of June 1944, an American Air Force B-17 bomber crashed into Cavehill during heavy fog, killing all ten crew instantly.
[edit] McArts Fort
It is believed that the fort's inhabitants used the caves to store white foods for the winter and may have served as a refuge during times of attack. It was here that United Irishmen Theobald Wolfe Tone and Henry Joy McCracken met in 1795 to take an oath to undertake rebellion in 1798. McCracken was captured on Cavehill in 1798.
[edit] Geology
The hill owes it characteristic shape to Tertiary basalt lava flows, from 65 million years ago. This is underlain by Cretaceous—145 million years—Ulster White Limestone and below this is Jurassic—200 million years—Waterloo Mudstone Formation, more commonly known as Lias clay.
Limestone was mined on the southern flanks of Cavehill in Victorian times and transported to Belfast docks by way of a horse-worked railway along the Limestone Road. The railroad was abandoned in the 1890s. Two small hamlets—Daddystown and Mammystown—were built on either side of the railway track in the early 1820s as dwellings for quarry workers. Some of the local avenues and streets bear the name 'Waterloo', in reference to their geological origins.
[edit] Tourism and recreation
Cavehill Country Park, Belfast Zoo and Belfast Castle are magnets for locals and tourists alike. In the 18th century the townfolk of Belfast flocked there on Easter Monday for the Cavehill fete, near a spring known as the 'Volunteers' Well'. The summits offers stunning views southwards over Belfast City and Lough towards the Mourne Mountains, Scrabo Tower and Slieve Croob. On a clear day, the eastern prospect reveals views of Carrickfergus and the Mull of Galloway in Scotland.
[edit] Getting there
Take the Metro Route 1 bus service from Belfast City Hall along the Antrim Road, alighting at the first stop past the Landsdowne Hotel, near the junction of North Circular and Antrim roads.
