Alcock’s Arbour (aka Devil’s Bag of Nuts)

There are two stories associated with this conical hill just off the road between Stratford and Alcester known as the Devil’s Bag of Nuts and Alcock’s Arbour. One 21 September which is the known as the Devil’s Nutting Day, Satan was collecting nuts when he was surprised by the Virgin Mary. Depending upon the version you read, Satan either dropped the nuts in shock or was ordered to drop them by the mother of Christ. Either way the nuts fell creating the hill.

The second story relates to hidden treasure. A robber known as Alcock is said to have lived within a cave in the hill and at the back of the cave he kept his ill gotten gains in a thick chest with three locks. As a further measure, Alcock left a large cockerel to stand guard over it. It is said that one day two of the locks on the chest were picked by a scholar from Oxford before he was torn apart by the cockerel. An indentation on the side of the hill is reputedly all that remains of Alcock’s cave and according to legend if you present one of Alcock’s bones to the cockerel it will allow you to take the treasure.