West Lothian lies on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and is predominantly rural, though there were extensive coal, iron, and shale oil mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries. These created distinctive red-spoil heaps (locally known as 'bings') throughout the council area.
A conspicuous crag-and-tail, Cockleroy rises steeply from the west to a height of 278m (912ft). The name means 'Hill of the King'. Cockleroy is well-known for the views it provides across the Midland Valley. It has a trig point and view indicator. The hill is composed of quartz-dolerite as part of the Midland Valley Sill. This is a tough igneous rock, a variety of dolerite that contains small amounts of quartz. It has formed when magma intruded into existing basalt layers: the dolerite is similar to basalt, but because it cooled down more slowly underground there was more time for the crystals to form and these are just big enough to be seen with the naked eye, unlike in (most) basalts.
At the summit is a late Bronze Age hillfort, where a stone arrowhead was found, known as Wallace's Bed. This is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, so the cache is placed a short distance away.
The summit can be reached by foot from the car park to the east of the hill and the walk to the cache is approximately 1.7km (1 mile) round trip. Due to the potential for sheep grazing on the hill, dogs must be kept on a lead at all times.
This cache is part of the Scotland The Quest series started by Finlay and his Drudge, bringing together 28 fellow cachers from all over Scotland to set up one large quest for all to enjoy.
Don't forget to take a note of the bonus information which, together with the information found in the other 31 caches in the series, will provide the location of the final Scotland The Quest - Bonus.
