Craigshill Plantation

Wood, Forest in Midlothian

Scotland

Craigshill Plantation

Sculpture in Livingston - 'The Community' Although most famous for its weird roundabout art, Livingston also has a number of more accessible publicly commissioned sculptures dotted about.
This is one of the better ones, although aspects of it are slightly baffling after reading the artist&#039;s summary of his work. It is said to depict a family of four holding hands, and they are balancing in the main on a branched tree stump by the looks of it. It is meant to give the impression of a &quot;celebratory dance&quot;. Nobody could actually move anywhere in this dance though, as both children are standing on their mother&#039;s leg, which actually looks as if it could be quite sore considering the size of the children. The dad seems to have got it easy - maybe there&#039;s some hidden symbolism going on there! If it is the dad that is; both males seem to be about the same size.
It&#039;s pretty well done, nonetheless, and was made by Charles Anderson in 1996. It must have been a tricky one to do as he states he returned to painting after making this. — Sculpture in Livingston - 'The Community' Credit: Ian Dodds

Craigshill Plantation is a picturesque woodland located in Midlothian, Scotland. Covering an area of approximately 100 acres, this plantation is a haven of natural beauty and tranquility. It is situated in the heart of the countryside, surrounded by rolling hills and lush greenery.

The plantation is predominantly made up of a variety of trees, including oak, beech, and birch, creating a diverse and vibrant ecosystem. The dense canopy provides a habitat for a wide range of wildlife, such as squirrels, deer, and various species of birds.

Walking through Craigshill Plantation is a delightful experience for nature enthusiasts and outdoor lovers. There are well-maintained paths that meander through the woodland, allowing visitors to explore the area at their own pace. Along these paths, there are informative signposts that provide interesting facts about the different tree species and wildlife that can be found in the plantation.

The plantation is also a popular spot for outdoor activities such as hiking, birdwatching, and photography. Its natural beauty offers countless opportunities for capturing breathtaking images of the woodland and its inhabitants.

Craigshill Plantation is easily accessible, with a car park located nearby for visitors' convenience. It is a perfect destination for individuals and families seeking a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Overall, Craigshill Plantation is a hidden gem in Midlothian, offering a slice of nature's beauty for all to enjoy.

Show me another place!

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Craigshill Plantation Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 55.90022/-3.5061581 or Grid Reference NT0568. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Sculpture in Livingston - 'The Community'

Although most famous for its weird roundabout art, Livingston also has a number of more accessible publicly commissioned sculptures dotted about. This is one of the better ones, although aspects of it are slightly baffling after reading the artist's summary of his work. It is said to depict a family of four holding hands, and they are balancing in the main on a branched tree stump by the looks of it. It is meant to give the impression of a "celebratory dance". Nobody could actually move anywhere in this dance though, as both children are standing on their mother's leg, which actually looks as if it could be quite sore considering the size of the children. The dad seems to have got it easy - maybe there's some hidden symbolism going on there! If it is the dad that is; both males seem to be about the same size. It's pretty well done, nonetheless, and was made by Charles Anderson in 1996. It must have been a tricky one to do as he states he returned to painting after making this.

Ian Dodds

An Old Bit of Howden Park Centre

Howden Park Centre is Livingston's only proper arts centre. This provides food for thought. Livingston is a newtown and therefore a micromanaged inorganic council affair. It has a population of about 60,000, higher than both Perth and Inverness. Organic settlements have only been micromanaged after things have sprung up naturally, and their ruling councils are probably used to there being lots of things there anyway. In Livingston's defence, at least it has local shops situated at sensible regular distances from people's houses. But it was designed 50 years ago and things have deteriorated since. New suburbia generally arrives with no amenities other than a playground. If sufficiently big - ie huge - they are bestowed with a sterile square, generally located close to the school and surgery, containing a small supermarket chain store, a couple of takeaways, and a hairdressers. Whilst I do see the arguments against people setting up shops in their front rooms, which is how things used to develop, I think the house builders these days are missing a trick. Instead of bunging all their legally required 'affordable homes' in a far-flung corner of the development, just spread them throughout the new scheme, located next to premises earmarked for shops and pubs which would have naturally sprung up before things got so regulated. The centre is essentially an art gallery and a 300 seat auditorium. I had a quick flick through their website and upcoming events include lots of music tribute acts, a Moulin Rouge tribute, some folk music, a couple of plays, and a magician. The site is built around the former stables and coach house of the nearby recently renovated Howden House. On a sombre note, this is the site of the first mainland Scottish deaths in World War Two. In 1940 a bomb hit the coach house, which I'm pretty sure is the central bit of this block, in between the arches, killing a woman and her granddaughter. These were the only deaths in the whole of the war in West Lothian.

Ian Dodds

Howden House and Steadings

Very few people are aware this hidden gem, tucked away at the top of Howden Park, actually exists. It was completed at some unspecified date in the late 1700s - though it was important enough to be marked on Roy's Military Map, surveyed in the 1750s - and was occupied by a succession of wealthy people until the Ministry of Agriculture took it over, along with the grounds, immediately after the Second World War to test farm machinery. It passed to the council (or Livingston Development Corporation as they were then officially called) in the 1960s. It isn't clear how long it was used for but eventually it sat idle and fell into a very sorry state - it is fairly easy to find pictures of this online. A private developer bought it about 10 years ago, and as can be seen, did a very good job. The house is now split into four separate properties. The steadings fooled me, being so in keeping with the house. They were, though, only built at the same time the house was getting refurbished.

Ian Dodds

Business unit off Kirkton North Road (B7015), Livingston

JThomas

Business unit on Fairbairn Road, Livingston

JThomas

Lothian Country Bus on Alderstone Road, Livingston

JThomas

Alderstone Road, Livingston

Approaching Newyearfield Roundabout.

JThomas

Alderstone Road, Livingston

Approaching Eliburn North Roundabout.

JThomas

Newyearfield Roundabout, Livingston

JThomas

United Presbyterian Church, Midcalder

As seen in Winter 1973/4 when it was disused and semi-derelict. In May 1854 it replaced the original 1765 church on the site, which was becoming unsafe. It was subsequently demolished and the stone used to build a new house that incorporated a cottage on Pumpherston Road, which had been a post-medieval Toll House.

M J Richardson

East Woods, Craigshill, Livingston

I don't think it would cause much argument to describe Craigshill as an unglamorous area of an unglamorous town. However, as with all of Livingston, it is close to a good network of leafy paths, and due to the town sloping down from North to South, has stunning views of the Pentland Hills from certain spots, including an open section on this linear woodland route. There is easy access to the wood via a tarmac path leading from Nasmyth Square, a dead-end road leading to lots of small industrial units with lots of parking space. Presumably the name arises from the woods being on the East side of Livingston, and the main mostly tarmacked path swings round Craigshill's NorthEastern corner, with access from various residential streets and the Mid Calder to Pumpherston road. Like most of Livingston's many small woodlands it is managed by the Woodland Trust, who have enormous exhaustive files available online about all of their sites. The only gripe I have with these reports is that they generally split up these suburban woodlands into 'compartments', with no accompanying map to determine where these compartments are on the ground. This time though it was easy enough to figure them out. This Northern section is mixed, and was originally planted in the mid 1800s. The Southernmost section though, in the neighbouring grid-square, is thought to have been planted during the building of Livingston, which mostly started with Craigshill in the 1960s. I mention this because the Woodland Trust report mentions problems there with various species of conifer having got too tall and therefore blowing over a lot. I wonder if they aren't present in the older section because these tree types weren't readily available at that time, they have already all blown over and/or been felled, or whether it is just a case of humanity becoming increasingly more stupid over time?!

Ian Dodds

Pond Outflow joining Caw Burn

This muddy burn looks man-made to me, though it has followed the same course for at least 200 years, judging by old maps. The 1850s OS naming book says that it was "formed by the drainage of several fields," which kind of validates my theory that it is, in effect, a large drainage ditch, in its early stages at least. It eventually reaches the Brox Burn, which drains into the River Almond. It used to start somewhere in what is now Livingston, though it is hard to say exactly where, as it used to form some kind of administrative boundary, which always makes the old maps harder to decode. Today, though, it flows underground from an indeterminate point and only appears overground about a hundred yards from here. There is a Cawburn Inn in Pumpherston (which seems to have changed from a normal pub to a major darts and pool venue at some point in the twenty years or so since I was last there) just West of here - an indication of the burn's original course The water joining it on the left comes from a smallish pond that must be the result of some remedial works to part of the vast former mining land around here, as it is not shown on any of the older maps available online (which stop in the late 1960s at present). The pond is shown on modern mapping, but the water leading from it to this spot is not.

Ian Dodds

Old Tracks from Pumpherston Oil Works

The photograph only shows three tracks but a fourth, off to the right, was visible on the ground, though it may only have been obvious when further along from the camera position. A large-scale OS map, surveyed in 1962, shows five tramlines here, but these surviving ones definitely match up with them from the grid references. Pumpherston Oil Works was a mainstay of West Lothian's shale mining industry throughout, and was the last man standing - it diversified into detergents after the last of the mines closed and outlasted the industry by around 30 years. The diversification may or may not have something to do with the fact that the tramlines only appeared on maps just before it stopped being a proper refinery in 1964. There is no sign of them on a 1948 map. They start near a railway line leading from the main part of the operation, which is also not present on the 1948 map, and disappear into one of numerous buildings unhelpfully just titled 'Works'. It seems very likely that waste was taken here; this was always the dumping ground for the oilworks, and the 1962 map shows a 'refuse tip' at the far end of the building. It seems odd, though, that the waste needed to go through a building to get there. Spent shale was just taken as far as it could be mechanically, then usually tipped by men, so there may have been some non-shale dumping happening here. After the works did finally close this site was a 'quarry' for the masses of spent shale dumped here over the years, probably for use in road foundations.

Ian Dodds

Old milestone

On the B7015 near Almondvale Park is another of the typical Calder District Trust milestones. This one has had its own paved area set around it. The stone had a very deep slot in its top which has been repaired.

John Riddell

Old milestone

This shows how wide the slot was in the top of the milestone near Almondvale Park. This has now been repaired with lime mortar to prevent further deterioration.

John Riddell

Don't

Dystopian vibes from the Covid posters along Howden Road West, outside St John's Hospital. At the time there was policy (especially marked in England) of pretending there was no dangerous respiratory virus while many hundreds of people died every day.

Richard Webb