Yesterday in Parliament I called for a ‘sustainable solution’ to be found that will save the Wemyss Caves from the threat of coastal erosion and vandalism during a debate on the caves in the Scottish Parliament. The debate was brought to Parliament to highlight the threats faced by the caves along with congratulating the Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society.

The Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society was founded in 1986 to protect and save as much of the Wemyss Caves and their unique drawings as possible. They aim to draw attention to the Heritage that is being destroyed by, amongst other things, coastal erosion and vandalism. They want to collect and record information on the caves, to preserve them and promote them as a tourist attraction and to encourage others to take an interest.

The Society holds open Sundays where they offer guided tours of the cave and the Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problems of Eosion Trust also aim to digitally preserve the markings found in the cave. A copy of my speech can be found below.

Taken from the Scottish Parliament Official Report: 

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): I welcome the opportunity to speak in this evening’s debate and I congratulate David Torrance on securing this slot. I welcome members of the Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society to the chamber. I hope that they find the debate an interesting and positive contribution to their work.

The society was established in 1986. I recognise its commitment and hard work in highlighting the importance of the caves and campaigning for their preservation. The society does a lot of work to gather and record information on the caves and to encourage others to take an interest. This debate is not its first engagement with Parliament. In 2000 it brought a petition to the Parliament following the loss of the foreshore path to coastal erosion and it received support from the Public Petitions Committee for further efforts to be made to protect the caves.

The Wemyss caves are a group of seven natural caves that lie along the coast immediately to the west of the village of West Wemyss. They are statutorily protected scheduled ancient monuments and are recognised as being of national importance.

The drawings in the Wemyss caves are unique. They depict Pictish symbols, early Christian imagery and Viking representations. They tell the story of the coast and the communities that lived and traded there and of those who smuggled there. The drawings provide important information for our understanding of Pictish imagery and how it represents life as well as death. They expand our knowledge of early drawing and carving techniques. Most importantly, they connect modern generations to history in a way that textbooks just cannot do.

The caves are difficult to access and the society is to be congratulated on the opportunities that it offers people to visit them through guided tours. The knowledge of the guides adds much to the experience of visiting the caves. It is not always easy to see the drawings, so the guides’ expertise adds greatly to the experience.

There is potential for greater public engagement, but there are significant challenges to achieving that. Over the years the caves have been vulnerable to vandalism. A combination of wilful damage and neglect has led to a compromising of the quality of what the caves have to offer. The society recognised that fact when it formed, partly as a response to vandalism and fires being lit in the caves, which led to some of the work being lost for ever.

It is worth recognising that the caves are on private property. Clearly Fife Council and Historic Scotland have key interests in the future of the caves and, given their national importance, surely the Scottish Government also has a role in ensuring their future. However, the caves are on private land as part of the Wemyss estate, so there should be some responsibility and engagement at that level, too.

Although vandalism, natural weathering and inherent geographical instability have all played a part in the deterioration of the caves in their landscape, coastal erosion has been and continues to be the greater challenge. Since 1989 Fife Council and Historic Scotland have invested in coastal defence works, but the challenge of success in this area must not be underestimated. This stretch of coastline is experiencing considerable coastal erosion. The coastline has retreated by at least 30m since 1974, which presents challenges not only to the caves but to many villages and communities along Fife’s coastline. The caves are at the mercy of the elements.

The Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion Trust—otherwise known as SCAPE—has been involved in recording the Pictish carvings in particular. As Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, recently recognised,

“SCAPE has led the field in highlighting the erosion of coastal sites and it is a credit to its members and research that it has found a way to use incredibly accessible mobile technology to improve the national records through the creative use of local expertise.”

We need to consider all options for the caves. Coastal erosion presents significant challenges to achieving a long-term or permanent solution, but we need to consider the options for long-term management.

A sustainable solution needs to be found that means that the knowledge that the drawings give us and the insight that they provide into the history of the shoreline and of Scotland can be saved. We should not underestimate the threat of coastal erosion or how difficult and costly coastal protection is, but we can be committed to a future for these important historical depictions.