Bickerton Hill, home of the 1st Sandstone Scout Group, lies at the southern end of the Mid Cheshire Ridge which runs from the River Mersey in the north almost to the Shopshire border in the south. There is evidence of settlement on the hills dating from the neolithic or Bronze Age. The earthworks of an Iron Age hill fort, Maiden Castle, are located on the summit of the southerly hill. The hills have been quarried and mined for copper since the 17th century, and a grade-II-listed engine house chimney remains as a remnant of the mining industry. Several caves occur in the sandstone, some of which have a history of habitation. The Sandstone Trail, a long-distance footpath, runs along the ridge, and the area is popular with walkers.
A large area of the hill is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its biological importance; much of this hill is owned by the National Trust. Its summit plateau has an extensive area of lowland heath, a rare habitat in Cheshire, and one that is particularly important for reptiles. The western escarpment of the hill has also been designated an SSSI for its exposed Triassic sandstones.
A large log, placed as a seat, is located close to the cache and provides a superb view of Rawhead across the valley, at 227m the highest point on the Sandstone Ridge. The River Mersey, with Liverpool beyond, is also visible on a clear day.
Directly below the seat (although not accessible from it) is Mad Allen's Hole. The front of this cave has long since collapsed but originally it was a large and deep 2 storey cave, reputed to have originally had a glass front. This cave is believed by some to be the location of "Allenscomb's Cave" in which John Harris, "the English Hermit", lived for 46 years in the 18th century. According to a pamphlet of 1809, Harris was a man of property from Handley, who embraced a hermit's life when his parents refused him permission to marry the woman of his choice. He first inhabited a cave in nearby Carden Park, moving to Allenscomb's Cave in the 1760s.
The coordinates are the location of the actual cache (not the seat) which is a short distance back from the cliff edge on the other side of the Sandstone Trail; it is NOT necessary to approach the cliff edge to locate the cache. The cache is a traditional clip lid container in a camo bag. The cache was repositioned on 30 March 2018 because the previous location had been destroyed by forestry work - the grid reference is, however, unchanged
This cache has been placed with the kind permission of the National Trust