[4][5] A Bronze Age burial mound of the bowl barrow type is located on top of an unnamed knoll immediately to the east of the southerly Bickerton Hill (SJ51055269).

[8][10] The double line of earth ramparts are still visible, forming a semicircle that encloses an area of 1.3 acres (5,300 m2) adjacent to the cliff edge.

[12] There is another Maiden Castle which is an Iron Age hill fort 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset.

[21] A rare remnant of this local industry is a disused mine engine house chimney in red sandstone, which stands by the A534 at the foot of the northerly hill near Gallantry Bank.

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.

[23] In the early 19th century, the Bloody Bones caves on the northerly hill were occupied by brigands, who terrorised the surrounding countryside, stealing cheese from local farms and plundering graves, as well as selling sand for cleaning.

[27] The area around Maiden Castle was used for military training exercises during the 20th century, which included digging numerous two-man slit trenches.

[33] A 2008 proposal to construct a 60-metre wind-monitoring mast adjacent to Bickerton Hill met with local protest,[34][35] and was rejected by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council.

The nearest settlements are (anti-clockwise from the south) Duckington, Brown Knowl, Fuller's Moor, Harthill, Bulkeley, Gallantry Bank and Bickerton.

[1] The summit of the northerly hill, Raw Head (SJ508548), has an elevation of 227 metres[1] and is the highest point on the Mid Cheshire Ridge.

[23] The Queen's Parlour, a large triple-chambered cave directly under the Raw Head trig point, might be partially quarried.

[43][44] The steeply sloping west flank of the northerly hill is clothed with conifer plantation and mixed woodland, which is managed for pheasant shooting.

[46] An area of 91.0 hectares (225 acres) of the birch woods and heathland of the southerly hill has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

It also extends over Cuckoo Rock, a lower area to the west of the southern high point, which lies to the south of the hamlet of Brown Knowl.

[30] Lowland heath is an internationally scarce habitat that is rare within Cheshire; a survey in 1995 found only 60 Ha in the administrative county.

[50] Within the heathland areas, the predominant community types are Calluna vulgaris (common heather)–Deschampsia flexuosa (wavy hair grass) (H9) and heather–Ulex gallii (western gorse) (H8).

[30][50] The woodland is dominated by silver birch, with aspen, holly, rowan, sessile oak and wild cherry also present.

[30] Over two hundred plants of the nationally rare fern, Lobed Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes subsp pachyrachis), were discovered in 1997, growing on calcareous sandstone at two different locations; this is possibly the largest population of the subspecies in Britain.

Insects found here that are scarce in the UK include the bleached pug and alder kitten moths, as well as the soldier beetle species Malthius frontalis.

[11][30] The site provides a habitat for butterflies, with common species including the comma, gatekeeper, red admiral, speckled wood and small tortoiseshell.

[30] Other birds commonly observed here include the jay, long-tailed tit, magpie, nuthatch, raven, treecreeper, and the great spotted and green woodpeckers.

[52] Management of the area by the National Trust has aimed, since 1992, to promote heathland regeneration by preventing encroachment by birches, scrub and bracken.

Strategies used include bracken rolling, clearing birch scrub and removing some older trees from heathland areas.

[53] Other threats to the site include the high volume of walkers, which has led to footpath erosion, and the inappropriate disposal of dog faeces.

[58] A total of 13.51 hectares (33.4 acres) of the northerly Bickerton Hill has been designated a geological SSSI for its exposed sandstones, which provide important insight into the conditions present during the Triassic period.

The SSSI is centred on SJ508547, and encompasses the hill's western escarpment, stretching from immediately west of Droppingstone Well, through Raw Head and Musket's Hole, and into Tower Wood.

No damage to the rocks was apparent from tree growth, and carved graffiti adjacent to the Raw Head summit was localised and superficial.