Cairnpapple rises sharply from rolling farmland between Bathgate and Linlithgow. A landmark for miles around, this 1000ft hill offers extensive views north and east to the Firth of Forth and the mountains of the Highlands and south to the Pentlands and Arran.
The site is significant because during the 1000 years of its use it was altered to reflect changing social and religious customs. One consequence is that it is the only site in this short series of stone circles where there are no stones left standing. Had you visited the site in 2800 BC you would have found a circle of 24 stones. These lay inside the ditch and bank, eroded but still clearly visible today. Causeways to the north and south gave access to the stone circle. Fragments of Neolithic stone axes from identified ''factories'' in North Wales have been found. During the late Neolithic a small cairn was added which overlapped two of the stones of the circle and contained pottery and a human burial at the centre. In the Bronze Age, a large cairn was built over the smaller and two burial cists added at the centre, one containing a human burial, the other cremated bone. On site the level
area of stones surrounding the small cairn indicates the extent of the Bronze Age cairn and the socket holes for the standing stones are also indicated. The cairn was enlarged further, two cremation urns added and then later still, a further five burials were added. Despite being dwarfed by a communications aerial, Cairnpapple is still a place of power and the views are magnificent. Go there on a clear day when the cairn's centre can be accessed, and take a pair of binoculars.
l Getting there: By car - Leave the M8 for Bathgate and pass through the town. Follow the B792 to Torpichen. Just before the village follow signs which point up minor roads to a car park just below the hill top. By train - Bathgate (tel: 0345 484950). By bus - Scottish Citylink (tel: 0990 505050)
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