North Ayrshire is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. The area was created in 1996 as a successor to the district of Cunninghame. The council headquarters are located in Irvine, which is the largest town. The area also contains the towns of Ardrossan, Beith, Dalry, Kilbirnie, Kilwinning, Largs, Saltcoats, Skelmorlie, Stevenston, West Kilbride, as well as the Isle of Arran and the Cumbrae Isles.
The cache is located at the foot of Cuff Hill in the parish of Beith. At 675 feet above sea level Cuff Hill is the highest point in the parish of Beith and in all North Ayrshire. From it one can glimpse Loch Lomond to the north and the sparkling Firth of Clyde to the west. At the hills summit are the remains of a Neolithic chambered tomb (GCHP24) and a great stone that rocked (GCHP1Z) in place for tens of centuries, until meddlesome humans made it settle by digging under it to finds it fulcrum. The tomb's builders chose their site for that remarkable stone and for the views around it.
Ages later, the ancient tomb and rocking stone brought Druid priests, called coiffs, to Cuff Hill. There they enacted their rituals, for long enough that the hill took their name. Eventually, Christian evangelists supplanted them. In the ninth century A.D., St. Inan came from the island of Iona to bring the word of God to the pagan Scots. He too favoured Cuff Hill for his ministry. He preached at an outcropping of rock near the tomb and rocking Stone, with the wooded countryside stretching out below. The faithful who flocked to hear him called the place St. Inan's Chair (GC2E1NQ).
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