Monday 27th July 2011
On the 27th July, my friend Alan and I decided to go walking. When I say we decided to go walking on the 27th, we actually decided about two weeks before that, but the 27th was the actual day we went walking. Now that’s been cleared up, I’ll get on with the blog.
On the 27th of July, my friend Alan I went for a walk, so it was boots, boots, boots, boots, marching up and down again. We headed towards Beecraigs Country Park, a 913 acre (370 hectare) area of land owned and maintained by West Lothian Council.
We had a map and a rough plan of what we were going to do. The plan, of course, was flexible and would change depending on what we saw or what we felt like doing.
We began our slightly less than epic trek at the rather nice visitors centre car park. From there we to the viewing platform that allows you to see the spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and fields of deer and cattle that are bred and are taken care of by the Park Rangers.
Some of these deer are beautiful creatures, sleek and elegant, and some stand proud with their antlers high showing their superiority, an absolute joy to behold.
Other occupants of other fields are the shaggy highland cattle. I have to see these are less elegant but oh my, they are powerful looking beasts. I would not like to infringe on their territory.
We took our time walking and soaking in the views. Part of the walk takes you into a largely wooded area with trees that seem to reach to the sky. Through these trees, a view of a small loch starts to appear and once clear of the trees you are greeted by a wonderful sight of water and wilderness. On the loch were a number of small rowboats, each occupied by two anglers. We stood and watched them quietly waiting for a movement in and on the water, poised ready to reel in the catch of the day. I have to say, whilst we stood there, they did not meet with success.
On the 27th July, my friend Alan and I decided to go walking. When I say we decided to go walking on the 27th, we actually decided about two weeks before that, but the 27th was the actual day we went walking. Now that’s been cleared up, I’ll get on with the blog.
On the 27th of July, my friend Alan I went for a walk, so it was boots, boots, boots, boots, marching up and down again. We headed towards Beecraigs Country Park, a 913 acre (370 hectare) area of land owned and maintained by West Lothian Council.
We had a map and a rough plan of what we were going to do. The plan, of course, was flexible and would change depending on what we saw or what we felt like doing.
We began our slightly less than epic trek at the rather nice visitors centre car park. From there we to the viewing platform that allows you to see the spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and fields of deer and cattle that are bred and are taken care of by the Park Rangers.
Some of these deer are beautiful creatures, sleek and elegant, and some stand proud with their antlers high showing their superiority, an absolute joy to behold.
Other occupants of other fields are the shaggy highland cattle. I have to see these are less elegant but oh my, they are powerful looking beasts. I would not like to infringe on their territory.
We took our time walking and soaking in the views. Part of the walk takes you into a largely wooded area with trees that seem to reach to the sky. Through these trees, a view of a small loch starts to appear and once clear of the trees you are greeted by a wonderful sight of water and wilderness. On the loch were a number of small rowboats, each occupied by two anglers. We stood and watched them quietly waiting for a movement in and on the water, poised ready to reel in the catch of the day. I have to say, whilst we stood there, they did not meet with success.
We continued around the loch occasionally looking back to see if we had missed a massive fish being pulled from the water, but we hadn't, so we kept moving.
The views are really lovely. The trees are full and thick and tall, it reminds me of images I have seen of Canada. I am sure that there are areas of Scandinavia that would look identical to what we walked through. The great thing about that day was the weather. It was bright and clear but also not too hot. There was a slight wind that kept us from boiling and kept us happy.
We continued to walk, following the route through the trees and across the landscape to the top of Cockleroy Hill. Oh my, what a view. As you stand at the summit and if you slowly turn 360 degrees, you have some of the best scenery you can possibly imagine. The hill itself rises to a height of 912 feet (that's 278m). We looked towards the east and could clearly see Arthur's Seat, some 20 miles away. We also took in the views of the Forth Road and Forth Rail Bridges.
Closer to home are the views over the town of Linlithgow. The views from the top of Cockleroy Hill are wonderful and well worth the climb. It offers a great view of the Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran, the Bass Rock of the coast of North Berwick and Ben More and Ben Vorlich to the north. If you ever get the chance to visit this area, do so, if nothing else for these fantastic views.
The great thing about any walk that we go on is, it isn’t a forced march. We take our time. We take in the views and we enjoy the day. We certainly enjoyed this day and were slightly saddened when we had to return to the car park and leave the marvellous nature of Beecraigs Country Park.
We have another couple of things lined up and if I can find the time and motivate myself enough I most certainly write them up. However, until then, I say farewell.
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