Take a short hike down to the coastline to visit St Ninian's Cave - a place of retreat and prayer for Scotland's first saint, who set up his church in Whithorn in 397 AD.
Straightforward though slightly muddy path down to the shore, then pebbly shoreline to reach the cave. The cave may be inaccessible at very high tide.
None to start.
Car park at Kidsdale.
There is a car park (small charge / honesty box) at Kidsdale, which is signed for St Ninian's Cave. The walk begins along the path which is signed from a corner of the car park. It curves round the side of the farm complex, and then goes through a gate and straight across a track. It then runs down the wooded Physgill Glen - the surface can be slightly muddy at times. At one point the path forks with one branch on either side of the burn but the two routes soon rejoin.
The glen ends at the attractive pebble beach of Port Castle Bay. The pebbles make a slightly awkward walking surface - the obvious cave entrance is now visible across the beach to the right. It may not be possible to reach it if the tide is very high.
The cave entrance is large and impressive from a distance but the cave itself is very shallow - it is also regarded as dangerous due to the possibility of falling rocks. Its historical importance is however much greater as this spot was said to have been used as a place of retreat and worship by St Ninian, the first missionary saint to arrive in Scotland and who set up the first church in nearby Whithorn. It contained some impressive celtic cross carvings, which have now been moved to the museum in Whithorn. There are still some crosses on the rock wall on the left, thought to be over 1,000 years old.
More recently the cave and beach were featured in the cult film 'The Wicker Man'. Unless intent on a longer walk along the coastline (perhaps to Burrowhead), the return is back the same way.
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