The name is variously found written Wolf's Caves, Wolf Cave and Wolf Caves. According to the sign over the hotel in the early 20th century, it should be Wolf Caves, but there is actually only one cave at the bottom of the cliff, so Wolf Cave would be more accurate.
The descent below Frémont was amazingly popular in Victorian and Edwardian times. The attraction was the large cave, up to 100 metres high and 20 metres deep, and today only accessible by boat on a calm day. Originally there was an iron ladder which gave access from the cliffside, but this was removed by the Germans during the Occupation.
At the top of the cliffs the Wolf Caves Hotel was conveniently located to provide sustenance to returning cliff climbers, although the title was somewhat grand for what was, in the early years of the 20th century, essentially a large pavilion with a corrugated iron roof. The first building was erected around 1870 and did good business after the turn of the century under the proprietorship of J Pinel.
During the Occupation the hotel burned down and the site was acquired after the war by C Le Masurier Ltd, who built a cafe, which became licensed premises in 1975 under the management of May and Martin Brennan, until it closed its doors in 2001.
Looking down from the clifftop
The 'Venus bath'
