Places to Visit Near West Linton

For those interested in hill walking, West Linton lies at the foot of the Pentland Hills Regional Park. There are a few short 1-2 hour local walks - many longer walks.

Edinburgh - Too many places of interest to mention here so try visitscotland.com or explore-edinburgh.com.

There is parking in Edinburgh but for environmental reasons we are being encouraged to use public transport. The local bus takes 50 minutes to reach the centre of Edinburgh. There is a bus every hour. We can also take the car to the outskirts of the city - 10-15 minutes, and then use Edinburgh city buses to get to the centre. The time varies depending on the bus route chosen, but will take at least 20 minutes.

The following suggestions might help:

The Castle must be the most famous visitor attraction www.historic-scotland.gov.uk - allow 2 hours for the castle.

My favourite is the Palace of Holyrood House, the official residence of the Queen in Scotland www.royal.gov.uk - an hour usually is plenty of time to tour the Palace, but there is also an art gallery for those interested, and our new Parliament is also nearby.

Not a palace but this was once a real home; many people enjoy the Georgian House in the New Town, however, new in Edinburgh is mid 18th century www.nts.org.uk Can be seen in ½ hour but can take longer for those interested in social history.

Out of Edinburgh

Traquair House - the oldest inhabited house in Scotland. www.traquair.co.uk

Approximately 15 miles from West Linton along narrow country roads at the foot of the Border hills and along side the River Tweed - one of the main salmon fishing rivers in Scotland. We pass through Peebles - an old country market town, and Innerleithen.

There are no guided tours of the house but there are interesting information sheets in each room.

It usually takes 1 hour to look round the house although it can take longer if we look round the grounds. Total visit time 2-3 hours.

Rosslyn Chapel - Built in 1446 Rosslyn Chapel is world famous for the beauty of its stone carvings. www.rosslynchapel.org.uk

Approximately 12 miles away, Rosslyn Chapel is the nearest historic building to West Linton.

There are guided tours but they are very busy in the summer. There are some information boards around the chapel but visitors are often content to simply admire the many carvings with their endless variety and intriguing symbolism.

There is a short walk to the old castle nearby but this has been rebuilt and is little significance except to those who can imagine the difficulties of building a castle on such a site - a steep rocky wooded gorge with the River Esk flowing below.

Less than ½ hour by car from West Linton, a tour of the chapel usually takes about 40 minutes - the walk another 20-30 minutes.

Total trip 2 hours.

Linlithgow Palace - The birth place of Mary Queen of Scots www.linlithgowstory.org.uk

Linlithgow is 18 miles west of Edinburgh - a pleasant small town with some quite good shops. It takes about 40 minutes from West Linton by car. The Palace is now a ruin, but enough is still there that a visit to the Palace will take about an hour - longer if we take a walk round the loch. In the summer, the local Scottish country dance group hold weekly ceilidhs (Scottish dancing) in the Palace courtyard. With everyone joining in, visitors find this a memorable evening's entertainment.

A good trip would be a visit to Linlithgow via South Queensferry to view the 'bridges', a quick drive to see Hopetoun House - from the outside usually, as it is expensive to view inside - however it is an impressive building in an impressive setting.

Other 'bib' old houses in the area include Dalmeny House and The House of the Binns. Both are open to the public.

Total time for visit - including the visit to Queensferry, the travelling time is about 2 hours.

Allowing for an hour at the Palace, this trip takes at least 3 hours.

Glenkinchie Distillery - See a working distillery and taste the product - the local single malt whisky www.malts.com

A 30-40 minute drive from West Linton or Edinburgh - at least an hour for the guided tour to see round the distillery. This will take longer depending on how long it takes to view the exhibition of distillation at the beginning and how long it takes to sample the product at the end!

Dawyck Botanic Gardens - www.rgbe.org.uk

A wonderful woodland garden, approximately 10 miles south west of West Linton. A walk in the heart of the Scottish Borders. Allow at least an hour to enjoy the garden's collection of trees and plants - more time if you want to enjoy refreshments and home baking in the Conservatory.

New Lanark - www.newlanark.org - a three hour trip for those interested in social history.

The Falkirk Wheel - www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk - a 3 hour trip for those interested in engineering, some say one of the wonders of the world.

Scottish Mining Museum - www.scottishminingmuseum.com - 30-40 minutes drive from West Linton to see how a coal mine works. This is a 5 star tourist attraction.