mcKinnon's cave

I managed to get Liz up at about ten the next morning, as we had to be down at the beach to start for MacKinnon's cave the moment the tide had gone out far enough to make it safe.Liz as always being very hard to wake up, glared at me through half-closed eyes, and hissed menacingly through clenched lips'You know not to harass me when I'm sleeping' , before turning her face to the wall. I took no notice, as I felt that for once she could also give in to my wishes, so I stood my ground and kept on talking to her about everything I could think of, until she gave one earsplitting growl, and jumped out of bed so fast that poor Benny and Stouty flew from the bed like two fluffy pieces of cloth, hitting the floor with resounding bumps!
But at least she was up and I quickly made her a cuppa, after which she did her usual early morning thing, that of course being to sit at the table looking absolutely woebegone while sipping her coffee and giving long and frantic pulls at her cigarette.
The problem was that the farmer told me not to go to the cave alone, as there have been some accidents, and if I fell and the tide overfalls me, I could be in big trouble, so Liz just had to come, like it or not. Luckily she also wanted to see the cave, otherwise I don't think that she would have been dressed and ready in what was for her a record time.
The walk down was not a happy one for Liz, as the path became very steep and muddy, and she was so busy complaining about all this, and the fact that I was a monster to expect her to be walking and rolling in the mud at this time of the morning, that I don't think she saw any of the beauty around her. And with the sun fully out, and the beautiful cliffs hanging mysteriously over the beach like guardian angels, it was indeed a wonderful walk and I was just about to tell Liz to stop complaining, when she slipped in the mud, landing with her bum in a deliciously muddy pool.
The growls she let out was almost not human, and I was laughing my head off, but then my feet slipped and I ended up next to that damsel in distress! That was so funny to both of us that we sat there in the middle of nowhere, each in our own puddle of mud, laughing like two teenage girls with raging hormones!
The last bit down to the beach was extremely steep, and we had a few falls, but as we were already muddy, it did nor bother us, as long as we got to the beach unharmed.
The cave is named after the Abbot MacKinnon, whose tomb is in Iona Abbey, next to the altar.
First thing we saw after a hefty scramble and some difficult climbing over some huge rocks, was a small quite beautiful waterfall, and right next to that was the opening to the cave. The entrance was huge, and penetrates deeply into the earth, and it was extremely dark, so that without the strong light, that we brought on the farmer's advice, you couldn't go in further than the outside light shines in.
It opens up into a big chamber, where a huge square rock almost like a table is the first thing you see. This rock is called MacKinnon's table.
According to folklore, there are a family of bad fairies living in the cave, and this fairies once killed a group of tourists, led by a pipe player, whose life they spared. This piper then had to keep on playing for them until he fell dead! Well, I did not feel like going in too far, as all the hair on my head and body were standing up straight from a fear that I could not explain, so we kind of ran out and departed quite hastily!