If you look towards the Upper Old Red Sandstone cliffs opposite the beach you will notice one of Millport’s famous painted rock features known as the ‘Indian Face’. You do not need to leave the roadside to appreciate this feature which may remind you of the carved heads on Easter Island! In fact, it is best not cross the field to approach the 'Indian Face' - the field is private and the ground can be quite boggy.
The face started out as just a nose which was painted on to the rock to help guide puffers (the once-ubiquitous little delivery steamboats which sailed all over the West of Scotland) making for the small pier which can be seen at the nearby bay. It is thought that the rest of the features were added by a local character known as ‘Fern Andy’ in the 1920s.
On a still day you can have a lot of fun enjoying the echo here – shout a greeting at the Indian and see what response you get!
However, you are not here to admire the paintwork, but to learn a little more about one of Cumbrae’s many geological features – the raised beach which runs most of the way round the island. Most of the rocks which underlie the island comprise of Upper Old Red Sandstone, a geological term describing sedimentary rock (rock made of mud, silt or sand compacted over time) formed between 400 and 260 million years ago - even before dinosaurs roamed the earth! You can see that the cliff on which the face is painted (and which gives you the echo) is very red in colour. This cliff would at one time have been the point at which the sea met the land. The raised beach is quite easily observed – it is the strip of land between the shore and the old sea cliff that marks its landward limit.
Raised beaches show that sea level has changed. A raised beach is an elevated area of sloping ground, sitting above the present tide line. In the past this area was at sea level. There are many examples of this feature throughout Britain, particularly along the West coast - this is because the area experienced the greatest weight of ice during the last Ice Age (about 10,000 years ago). During an Ice Age, the massive weight of ice bearing down on a landmass caused it to sink. Over time, as the earth's temperature rose and the weight of ice decreased, areas of land began to slowly rise back out of the sea. This ‘bounce back' motion - the localised change in sea level, relative to the land - is known as isostasy, or isostatic uplift.
Once you’ve had some fun shouting at the painted face, take a short walk to N 55° 46.800 W 004° 55.877. Found in ‘Little Skate Bay’ this little abandoned stone pier (most easily seen when the tide is out a bit) is the one which aligns with the nose on the Indian’s Face. Before the road round the island was completed most of the farms on the island had their own landing points from which they could load and unload cargoes. This one served Figgitoch Farm, and during the construction of Portpatrick harbour (near Stranraer) stone quarried near the summit of the island was loaded onto vessels here for use in building the harbour. Some of the stones rejected for use at Portpatrick were used to build up the little pier!
To get to the pier you will drop down from the raised beach to the shore line and walk across a sandy beach.
To log your visit:
1. Estimate how much the raised beach has risen by since the last ice age. You can do this by finding the high-tide mark - look for a line of dried seaweed across the shore. Then work out the difference in height between the level of the road and the high-tide mark. Either Imperial or metric estimates are fine!
2. Describe the blocks which have been used to make the little pier (shape, approximate size, type of rock). Looking at the rocks around you, explain why you think the builders chose to bring stone quarried from the top of the island down to sea level rather than simply cutting stones from the shoreline.
3. Email the cache owner with your answers (click on my profile and then the option to send a message). This is really important. Some cachers have been forgetting to do this and, as this is a fun activity, I don't want to have to delete finds! Please do not mention the answers when logging your visit!
4. Optional task: try to get a photo of yourself with the Indian Face in the background so we can play ‘spot the difference’!