Not far from Auchinleck Castle, within the grounds of Auchinleck Estate is a cave hewn in a sandstone cliff overlooking the River Lugar. The cave is known locally as "Wallace`s Cave", no doubt alluding to an association with William Wallace, however Ayrshire abounds with sites claiming Wallace associations but unfortunately little hard evidence exists to prove or disprove the claims.It must be pointed out that this cave is not the only cave within the grounds of the estate, not far away at the side of the Dippol burn there are at least two other caves hewn from sandstone. Both of these are virtually certain to be associated with the 18th century Auchinleck House, one a cave used to store meat before the advent of refrigeration. Still, "Wallace`s" Cave in it`s "stylised" look as it is today may have existed in a more humble form in the past and may have been enlarged and altered cosmetically by successive generations.It does most definetely after all lie in a locale steeped in activity from the correct era.The small photograph shows steps hewn into the sandstone along part of the path to the cave.Some may say that the steps hewn in this fashion exceed pure functionality and so further strengthen the case that the cave is too stylised to be truly associated with William Wallace, certainly in the form we see it today.

The path to the cave is precarious and care should be taken getting there.