A multi-stage EarthCache at Billinge Hill. Please allow about an hour to gather the information and enjoy the views. You will need a compass clinometer (or similar phone app) to complete this cache. Please read the description carefully to get an idea of the requirements and prepare yourself before setting out to attempt this cache. There are four questions to answer at three different locations that will take you on a walk from the summit down through the plantations. There are no cafe or toilet facilities close by. Send your answers to me via email or using the geocaching message facility before logging a successful find. Any logs that are not accompanied by answers will be deleted.
Geographical and Geological Context
At 179m above sea level Billinge Hill is the highest point in Merseyside. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire and is one of the 176 hills graded as a Marilyn in England. The summit tower was built as a summerhouse to Winstanley Hall in the 18th century. It originally had a roof but this was burned down at the beginning of the last century and the tower was capped off with concrete. It is no longer possible to enter the tower but there are two floors contained within it and in the 1970's it was possible to climb up an iron ladder to the top floor and look out of the windows. The tower was also used to look out for enemy bombers during the Second World War. Beacons have been lit here on several occasions in recent history including the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war on 11th November 2018.
On a clear day you can see the Snowdonia mountains to the South West, Winter Hill and the Derbyshire Hills to the East, Jodrell Bank and Runcorn Bridge to the South East and Liverpool's two cathedrals and Crosby Docks to the West. On a bad day you can barely see to the foot of the hill...
There is an Ordnance Survey Triangulation Pillar at the summit and just below the summit to the west are the capped off remains of an observer corps bunker that would have been used to monitor radiation levels in the event of a nuclear war in the cold war era.
There is much evidence of small and large scale historical quarrying close to the summit and within the plantation to the North of the summit tower.The quarries at Billinge worked a number of the Lower Coal Measures sandstones such as Old Lawrence Rock, Dyneley Knoll Flags and Milnrow Sandstone. All of these sandstones are likely to have been used as building stone and flagstone in the village of Billinge and its surrounds. St Aidan’s church, by notable architect Henry Sephton, and early post-medieval Birchley Hall with its flagstone roof are constructed of sandstones quarried at Billinge. Flagstones from Billinge were highly valued, and were thus traded on a more regional scale. The underlying geology of the Billinge area is largely hidden by housing developments, transport infrastructure, farmland and surface soil. Billinge Hill and Billinge Plantation is almost unique locally in that it is possible to see the underlying geology exposed at the surface.
If you stand by the trig pillar and look South over the wall into what was the largest but now land filled and landscaped quarry you might be able to spot Billinge Henge! Before you can provide the answers necessary to complete this EarthCache you will need to know a little about soil composition and soil forming processes. You will also need to know that rock formations can be folded, faulted and/or tilted over time so that they can appear tilted when they outcrop at the earth's surface.
Strike, Dip and Dip Direction
Dip refers to the angle measured from the horizontal at which an outcrop appears to slope. The Dip Direction is the compass direction (or bearing measured in degrees clockwise from North) at which the outcrop appears to dip. You can envision the direction of dip by thinkng about the direction in which water would flow if poured on the surface of the rock. Strike refers to the compass direction (or bearing) perpendicular to the dip direction and can be thought of as the direction of a horizontal line drawn perpendicular to the direction in which water would flow down the slope.
Dip and strike measurements can be made using a compass clinometer or a free app that does the same job like FieldMove Clino
Soils and soil formation
Soils vary by geographical location over very large and sometimes very small vertical and horizontal scales.They also develop and deteriorate over time. If you dig down, layers known as Horizons are often visible and can be classified as shown in the image below. Soils generally consist of minerals derived from the underlying rock type(s) and organic matter derived from decaying plant and animal life in varying proportions. Man-made contaminants can also be present.
Please visit the waypoints listed below and send me your answers to the following six questions to claim a find.
Stage 1 at the summit at the stated coords
Question 1. On the South facing side of the tower low down to the right you can find an Ordnance Survey cut mark. Is the stone a limestone, a sandstone or a granite?
At waypoint 1 you will find an outcrop of the rock once quarried here
Question 2. Using your compass clinometer estimate the strike, dip and dip direction on the small exposed surface at waist height at the corner of the outcrop.
At waypoint 2 you will find a fallen tree that was uprooted in the storms a couple of years ago
Question 3. Look at the soil around the exposed roots of the fallen tree, rub it between your fingers and note its colour and texture. Which horizon would you say this soil came from?
Question 4. Look at the surface soil exposed at the path by the tree, what is its colour and texture? Which horizon would you say this soil belongs to?
Send your answers via email or via the geocaching messaging centre before logging your find. We hope you enjoy your time at Billinge Hill as much as we have over the years. If you have any problems completing this EarthCache please let us know. Best wishes Inukshuk and Arwen