Peden's Cave

Peden’s Cave is a small, partly man-made hollow cut into a red sandstone cliff above the River Lugar near Auchinbay farm in East Ayrshire. The rock face rises steeply from the water and the cave entrance sits about three metres above the riverbed. A narrow path once led to the old ford and bridge ruins downstream. The cave’s opening is hard to spot from above, hidden by the cliff’s angle and the vegetation. Nearby Wallace’s Cave lies a short way upstream where the Dippol Burn joins the Lugar. The cave is linked to Alexander Peden, a Covenanter minister who hid from government troops in the 17th century. Tradition says he used this spot during the Killing Time of the 1680s. His brother lived at Tenshilling Farm close by and is said to have brought food to the cave. Peden later fell ill here before moving nearer his brother’s home, where he died in January 1686. After his death, soldiers dug up his body and reburied it at the foot of the gallows tree in Cumnock. Inside, the cave measures roughly two metres high, one metre wide and two and a half metres deep. Chisel marks line the walls, showing how the natural hollow was enlarged. A stone shelf was cut into one side and six steps lead down to it, though the descent remains awkward. Outside, a flat rectangular area may once have been used to stable horses or store supplies. The opposite bank offers the clearest view of the entrance, though reaching it is difficult. The site sits among old estates like Dumfries House and Auchinleck House, close to historic fording places on the Lugar.