Turf Blog – WallacesCave
The temperature gauge in the Planet Gary Bike Shed revealed the temperature to be a rather chilly -4.8 Degrees below. The Swifty Air kick scooter said bugger off, I’m not going outside. The Ribble bicycle said only two words, one with four letters and another with three. The Sonder bicycle said something equally unmentionable. Oh well, looks like I’ll be walking then. At least I can try out my new thermal boots in sub-zero conditions, and my new M&S thermal underwear as well. And I had just the ideal place to visit, zone WallacesCave, located above the River North Esk opposite Rosslyn Castle.
As suggested by the temperature, the ground was frozen hard, the leaves underfoot were hard and crispy and icy patches had me taking care were I walked. But on the plus side, hard frozen ground is better than wet, slippery mud and there’s one part of this walk where wet, slippery mud is a real hazard. That’s where the footpath to the cave crosses a small stream fed from the fields above at Gorton House. Even today, when frozen, you still need to take crossing the small gorge less you plummet to your doom far below.
Turf Blog – WallacesCave
I had originally planned to clear the steps leading down to Wallace’s Cave, removing all the years of accumulated leaf and soil and carried a small trowel and hand-brush for the task. However, it was well frozen and I really need a proper spade. Perhaps a task for another day. The zone can actually be taken from the footpath above the cave but it really is quite an interesting cave to visit, if you can brave the worn sandstone steps leading downwards and there no handrail to catch you if you slip and fall.
The cave is quite spacious, open-plan and large enough to accommodate a small bedroom, sitting room come kitchen and even an outdoor toilet. And by that I refer to the doorway and the river below. What better to have such a splendid view when spending a penny? Today, I’d brought a decent torch with me and set about examining the walls and ceiling of the cave.
First find was a solitary mushroom growing from the cave wall. Not sure what it’s actually growing from, perhaps a tree root that has found its way down through the sandstone rock from above, or even simply a small piece of wood that’s been wedged into a crevice by a visitor in the cave wall. I didn’t want to disturb the mushroom to find out.
Next, spiders, everywhere. There were spiders lurked away in corners, spiders hanging down from slender threads of silk and spider sitting quietly in webs, all waiting to catch their breakfast, lunch or dinner. At first, I wondered what they might actually be eating and soon found out. There were swarms of tiny black flies covering the cave roof, all very active despite the cold. Had me recalling an episode in The X-Files where clouds of very similar flies carried away some unfortunate campers and certain FBI agents. Thankfully, I was neither of those, so they left me alone.
But perhaps the best find was the moths, dozens of them clinging to the cave roof, probably hibernating under they emerge again next Spring. I didn’t recognise what species they were at the time but later discovered they are called The Herald moth, Scoliopteryx libatrix, the adults over-winter in sheds, barns, outbuildings, and of course, caves. The coppery flashes on the wings were really cool to see in the torch light.
And that was pretty much that, other than a few tea-light candles left by visitors and some dry rushes on the floor. However, back outside on the trail above, I noticed something on the path. At first, I thought it was fungus growing on something smelly and nasty but closer inspection revealed it was actually frozen tree sap, forced out of the wood by the icy temperatures in hair-fine filaments.
Well, that was my initial theory. As it turns out turfer Wintergreen read the blog and send me a message about something called hair-ice, a rare type of ice formation where a particular fungus called Exidiopsis effusa in the rotting wood produces these hair-like strands of ice. More information on hair-ice here. A nice find and one that shows you should keep your eyes open and see what’s about. Sometimes there can be more to a zone than just taking a zone. Big thanks to Wintergreen. More soon.
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