Once upon a time (in the Domesday Book), West Hallam was a tiny village. Over the centuries it grew, with a village centre with a church, a public house (The Punchbowl), a 17th century school building, and a few houses. Very rural and idyllic (except for the coal mine on the edge of the village towards Stanley).
But then, from the 1970s onwards, the square of land formed by four roads (High Lane, Station Road, St Wilfrid's Road, and The Village) was completely filled in with housing. West Hallam is now a popular housing estate, which still has the old features at its edge, and is still, fortunately, surrounded by green fields in every direction (the coal mine is long gone).
Except that when they covered the fields with housing, they left a few bits of it undeveloped. Sometimes deliberately, such as with the village's cricket and football pitches, and sometimes because the land was just not suitable for building on.
The aim of this small sequence of caches is to show people that there is far more to West Hallam than the housing estate. It is hoped that further caches will be added to the series
This cache is next to the brook, called the “Red River” by many (if you look, you’ll see why!), which flows through West Hallam and out towards Kirk Hallam.
A popular spot with youngsters when the weather is good and there is no school, the site is also slightly overlooked and is just off a well-used public footpath, so you'd better make sure that you aren't disturbed!
The cache is a bison tube, so please bring your own pencil. There is no room for any swaps. If you're travelling by car, there is no shortage of places to park on the estate within a 100 - 200 metres of the cache.