The ponderous gate behind him rung:
To pass there was such scanty room,
The bars, descending, razed his plume.’
The buildings and the surrounding walls cover the entire surface of the rock. Its strength in olden times was proverbial, and led to the saying—
‘Ding doon Tantallon,
Mak’ a brig to the Bass,’
the one achievement being deemed about as easy as the other. The ruins as seen from the sea do not present any picturesque features, but they give the impression of a place of great size, and practically impregnable.
The Bass Rock (313 feet high) is the counterpart in the Firth of Forth of Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde; and it is remarkable that these two rocks are the only ones in Scotland that are frequented by the gannet, or solan goose. The Bass presents a very bold outline, from whatever point it may be seen. Its summit slopes from north to south, and it is surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs, rising sheer out of the sea. The only possible landing-place is on a shelf of rock on the south side, above which are the ruins of a fortress, which stretched across the island from east to west.
The Bass Rock.