Sally Grain cave Weardale 09/06/2014

[Wormy]

Last of my ramblings from today, Im just trying to get everything sorted out that I've been up to for the past couple of weeks.  A couple of mondays ago I decided to go and find something obscure.  So obscure that I spent most of the day just trying to find it.

For a start Sally Grain cave appears in the Northern cave guides but please bear in mind the map reference given is wildly innacurate, putting it somewhere near cow green reservoir.  I parked up in Ireshopeburn and started the looooooong walk up to find it! 

Looking back towards Weardale in the far distance:

And it really is a loooong walk, at the point were i had decided (nearly correctly) that I was in Teesdale I finally stumbled upon the fabled 'solitary limestone outcrop':

Only to find that the entrance pitch was blocked with rocks:

I dug out a lot of the dirt, moss and boulders but there are still two large rocks wedged in the hole, just big enough and deep enough to make extraction by one person impossible, I shall be back up here with a rope soon!!!

 

[topcat]

And the correct grid ref is........???

[is there somewhere to belay the rope to so that you can use a pulley system?]

 

[Wormy]

Unfortunately no there isnt really anywhere to belay the rope from, but I think with 2+ people and maybe a net and rope it shouldnt be too bad! And there are at least 3 clues in the report I wrote to give you the map reference especially if you have the original incorrect one from the cave guide