West Lothian, Scotland – May 1999

Historic Sites

I love really ancient places so don’t be surprised if I enthuse more about these than other things.

Linlithgow Palace – This is everything a castle should be. It’s in pretty good repair and none of it is closed to the public (except those bits that could fall on you at any moment). It’s a great place to run around in.

Torphichen Preceptory – Torphichen is a small town of just over 600 people which sits off the beaten path. The Preceptory (an old churchy thing) dates from the 12th century.

Much of it is still standing. The best features are the central tower and the transepts. This building looks pretty gothic and brooding from the outside. I haven’t been in yet but if you go maybe you could let me know what its like.

Cairnpapple Hill is situated in the Bathgate Hills, just outside Torphichen. The excavations here have revealed several stacked settlements ranging from 2,500 BC to 1,200 BC.

I love this place. On a clear day you can sit on the hill and look, from east to west, right across the country. The burial mound was recently opened to the public again. You can climb down inside to see the graves hidden there. I love to sit, listening to the wind and think about the amazing people (I think of them as my ancestors) who built the place.

Sport

West Lothian Council has invested a lot of money in sport and leisure facilities in the area. The most high profile scheme so far has been the Livingston F.C. stadium at Almondvale in Livingston.

Cycling

West Lothian is a great place for cyclists (or at least it’s getting there). There are cycle routes all over the place – many of them through lovely countryside.

A map of West Lothian, including cycle and walking routes can be purchased from the Public Libraries for £3.95. The town of Livingston has some special by-laws or something that mean every footpath in the town is also a cycle path.

The organisation SPOKES (a militant cyclists group – of which I am a member) has produced a cycle map of the town. You will probably find these maps, along with other bike related info, at:

Bathgate Bikes

21 King Street

BATHGATE

West Lothian

Tel: 01506 632727

The guys there are dead nice and always ready for a bit of bike-chat.

Skating

The skateboard park at Almondvale in Livingston is always mobbed and sometimes events are held there. Soon as I hear of any I’ll let you know. I am informed that there’s a new half-pipe at the Balbardie Sports Centre in Bathgate.

Culture

The Council produces a quarterly events guide called “Arts in West Lothian”. This is available, free, in public libraries across West Lothian.

The current issue runs from April-June. Items coming up in May, which caught my eye:

• 12 May: Fiddlers’ rally 7.30pm
• 26-29May: a play called Blackfriar’s Wynd 7.30pm
• Various dates: Latin American, Samba and Egyptian Belly dance classes.

All of these events take place at the Howden Park Centre, Howden, Livingston,

EH54 6AE.

Phone: 01506 433634

For those with an interest in Scottish Country Dancing (I’m sure their must be some), apparently dances are held in the courtyard of Linlithgow Palace. I can’t think of a better backdrop to a dance.

Cinema

There are no commercial cinemas in West Lothian. But fear not movie buffs. I’m currently involved in setting up a film society in a glorious old Art Deco building (once a cinema but now a community theatre). I’ll keep you abreast of developments.

More Information

The only proper tourist information office in West Lothian is in Linlithgow:

Linlithgow Tourist Information Centre

Burgh Halls

The Cross,

Linlithgow

West Lothian

EH49 7AH

Tel:+44 (0) 1506 844600

Fax:+44 (0) 1506 671373

The other main source of information in the area is West Lothian Council. As previously mentioned the Council produces an events guide called Arts in West Lothian which is freely available from public libraries.

Also available in the public libraries, the computerised catalogues have a Community Information database which contains info on up-coming events in the region.

This database can also (sometimes) be accessed via the Web. Library addresses and opening times can also be found on this website.

The Council’s main site contains links to, among other things: The Scottish Tourist Board; Tourist Guides; SPOKES – The Lothians Cycle Campaign; LUCS – Linlithgow Union Canal Society; pubs, restaurants and leisure facilities; Rail and plane info; historic sites.

Internet Access is now available via the Public Library in Linlithgow. Just ask the library staff to give you a temporary or guest account.

There should be some sort of sign directing you from the Tourist Information Office to the Library.

Ok. That’s it. West Lothian is (I have to admit) not the most exciting place in the world but if you’re visiting Edinburgh for a while I recommend you come over for a visit.

Welcome to West Lothian

“Situated in the heart of Silicon Glen, West Lothian is a thriving district with a population of around 150,000.

West Lothian was recently rated as the second best place in Britain to live. The independent Quality of Life study praised West Lothian’s economic success, attractive environment, low crime rate and cost of living…….

You could say that West Lothian is a modern day success story!”

General info on West Lothian

West Lothian stretches east to west between the districts of Edinburgh and Falkirk and nestles (ain’t that an evocative word?) in the valleys that lie between the Forth Estuary (to the north) and the Pentland Hills (to the south).

The land is a mix of the rural and the industrial, the ultra modern and the very ancient.

The lush green of the hills and fields is dramatically offset by the striking red of the shale bings that dot the landscape.

The prehistoric burial mound at Cairnpapple dates from 2800 BC while the industrial estates are filled with factories producing state of the art electronic equipment.

The three main towns in West Lothian are Livingston, Linlithgow and Bathgate.

Livingston is the major town (don’t say this if you’re in Bathgate though. Passions run high on this matter. Parochial or what?) and the centre of admin. and commerce in the area.

It is one of the ‘New Towns’ founded in the late sixties to house the overflow population from Glasgow. Although much of the architecture is modern (and ugly) there are some historic buildings dotted about and extensive tree planting has done much to disguise and soften the excesses of drug induced sixties and seventies design.

It is expected that the population of nearly 40,000 will double in the early 21st century.

Bathgate, once the administrative capital of the county, is now home to a busy market (on Wednesdays and Fridays) and the huge, purpose built night-club “Room at the Top”.

On the other side of the Bathgate Hills, towards the Forth Estuary, is Linlithgow.

The town, which dates from medieval times, sits beside a picturesque loch and is dominated by Linlithgow Palace where Mary, Queen of Scots was born.

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