A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland
(Johnson and Boswell, 1773)
SLANES CASTLE, THE BULLER OF BUCHAN
We came in the afternoon to Slanes Castle, built upon the margin of
the sea, so that the walls of one of the towers seem only a continuation
of a perpendicular rock, the foot of which is beaten by the waves. To
walk round the house seemed impracticable. From the windows the eye
wanders over the sea that separates Scotland from Norway, and when the
winds beat with violence must enjoy all the terrifick grandeur of the
tempestuous ocean. I would not for my amusement wish for a storm; but
as storms, whether wished or not, will sometimes happen, I may say,
without violation of humanity, that I should willingly look out upon
them from Slanes Castle.
When we were about to take our leave, our departure was prohibited
by the countess till we should have seen two places upon the coast,
which she rightly considered as worthy of curiosity, Dun Buy, and the
Buller of Buchan, to which Mr. Boyd very kindly conducted us.
Dun Buy, which in Erse is said to signify the Yellow Rock, is a double
protuberance of stone, open to the main sea on one side, and parted
from the land by a very narrow channel on the other. It has its name
and its colour from the dung of innumerable sea-fowls, which in the
Spring chuse this place as convenient for incubation, and have their
eggs and their young taken in great abundance. One of the birds that
frequent this rock has, as we were told, its body not larger than a
duck's, and yet lays eggs as large as those of a goose. This bird is
by the inhabitants named a Coot. That which is called Coot in England,
is here a Cooter.
Upon these rocks there was nothing that could long detain attention,
and we soon turned our eyes to the Buller, or Bouilloir of Buchan, which
no man can see with indifference, who has either sense of danger or
delight in rarity. It is a rock perpendicularly tubulated, united on
one side with a high shore, and on the other rising steep to a great
height, above the main sea. The top is open, from which may be seen
a dark gulf of water which flows into the cavity, through a breach made
in the lower part of the inclosing rock. It has the appearance of a
vast well bordered with a wall. The edge of the Buller is not wide,
and to those that walk round, appears very narrow. He that ventures
to look downward sees, that if his foot should slip, he must fall from
his dreadful elevation upon stones on one side, or into water on the
other. We however went round, and were glad when the circuit was completed.
When we came down to the sea, we saw some boats, and rowers, and resolved
to explore the Buller at the bottom. We entered the arch, which the
water had made, and found ourselves in a place, which, though we could
not think ourselves in danger, we could scarcely survey without some
recoil of the mind. The bason in which we floated was nearly circular,
perhaps thirty yards in diameter. We were inclosed by a natural wall,
rising steep on every side to a height which produced the idea of insurmountable
confinement. The interception of all lateral light caused a dismal gloom.
Round us was a perpendicular rock, above us the distant sky, and below
an unknown profundity of water. If I had any malice against a walking
spirit, instead of laying him in the Red-sea, I would condemn him to
reside in the Buller of Buchan.
But terrour without danger is only one of the sports of fancy, a voluntary
agitation of the mind that is permitted no longer than it pleases. We
were soon at leisure to examine the place with minute inspection, and
found many cavities which, as the waterman told us, went backward to
a depth which they had never explored. Their extent we had not time
to try; they are said to serve different purposes. Ladies come hither
sometimes in the summer with collations, and smugglers make them storehouses
for clandestine merchandise. It is hardly to be doubted but the pirates
of ancient times often used them as magazines of arms, or repositories
of plunder.
To the little vessels used by the northern rovers, the Buller may have
served as a shelter from storms, and perhaps as a retreat from enemies;
the entrance might have been stopped, or guarded with little difficulty,
and though the vessels that were stationed within would have been battered
with stones showered on them from above, yet the crews would have lain
safe in the caverns.
Next morning we continued our journey, pleased with our reception at
Slanes Castle, of which we had now leisure to recount the grandeur and
the elegance; for our way afforded us few topics of conversation. The
ground was neither uncultivated nor unfruitful; but it was still all
arable. Of flocks or herds there was no appearance. I had now travelled
two hundred miles in Scotland, and seen only one tree not younger than
myself.
You can read more of Johnson & Boswell's writings at the Oban,
Lorn and North Argyll Guide (Books).
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