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<< Our Photo Pages >> Galabraes - Standing Stone (Menhir) in Scotland in West Lothian

Submitted by vicky on Sunday, 22 December 2002  Page Views: 12311

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Galabraes Alternative Name: Gala Braes; Gala Braes 1 & 2
Country: Scotland
NOTE: This site is 3.469 km away from the location you searched for.

County: West Lothian Type: Standing Stone (Menhir)
Nearest Town: Bathgate  Nearest Village: Galabraes
Map Ref: NS9881869839  Landranger Map Number: 65
Latitude: 55.910974N  Longitude: 3.620231W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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I have visited· I would like to visit

markj99 visited on 22nd Apr 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Galabraes E Standing Stone is on the left side of the narrow road approaching Cairnpapple Hill. I resolved to visit it on the way back. To paraphrase Charles Dickens, Galabraes is "A Tale of Two Stones": the E Standing Stone is a tall erect slab and the W broken stump on the edge of gorse bushes is a sad remnant of a standing stone. In fact, the gorse bushes are encroaching on W Galabraes stone so don't leave it too long. The condition rating of Galabraes E is 4 and Galabraes W is 2, hence the average rating of 3.

neo_lithic visited on 7th Dec 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 3 Interesting site, would be better on a nicer day as it was pouring. A high point in the land with an excellent view. Can park in a lay-by a short distance down the road but crossing a fence and walking through the muddy field is required. Worth the visit.

AstroGeologist visited on 25th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 3 Gala Braes Menhir : A 1.6m tall Whinstone Menhir, situated on a ridge 160m above sea level. It is approximately aligned to the cardinal points, and lies about 1.9km (as the Crow flies) to the South of Cairnpapple. The Southern Face of the Menhir looks out over the low lying countryside, with Goatfell on Arran visible to the West on clear days. A farmer called Mr Carlaw found human bones in 1902, when digging at the base of this stone. A second Menhir lies toppled at the edge of the field nearby, 70m to the West. *Getting There ; Just over half an hour walk from Bathgate train station, which is 2.3km away. Leave the train station and cross Edinburgh Road into Gordon Avenue, take the 2nd left onto Marjoribanks Street, take the 2nd right and follow Balbardie Road until the end, turn right when you come to Drumcross Road. Walk up this hill for about 15/20 minutes (1.25km) until you come to Limeroad crossroads where you make a left, the Menhir is in the second field to your left, you cant miss it. You have to climb over a small wall to access the field, which sometimes has Cattle in it. (The journey is all uphill once you come to Balbardie Road. And Drumcross Road is the steepest part)

Anne T visited on 22nd Sep 2017 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Gala Braes Standing Stones, Bathgate: We drove up and down the road, but couldn’t see a gate into the field along either from the ‘main’ road (Drumcross Road) or the side road running north-south up to Cairnpapple Hill, so we ended up clambering over an almost demolished stone wall and squeezing through the wire fencing. There was a big (very unfriendly looking) bull in the field just below the western end of the ridge, who stood his ground and kept looking at us, so we didn’t dare approach the other small knoll where the other stone (B) should have been located. As we were leaving, I spotted some old boundary features to the south of the standing stone so was photographing these, when I heard some cawing behind me. Looking up, a large crow was sitting on the standing stone, bobbing up and down. Eerie!



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.25 Ambience: 3.5 Access: 3.25

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by postman : Site in West Lothian Scotland Galabraes standing stone, it's not far from Cairnpapple and very close to the road, how com no-ones posted on here before (Vote or comment on this photo)
Standing Stones in West Lothian

For more information see Canmore site no. 47758, which records: "Standing stone 'A', 5 1/4 high, occupies a conspicuous position on the summit of a ridge. Many years before 1902, the father of Mr Carlaw, the farmer of Gala Braes, found human bones when digging at the base of this stone. 'B', 224' W of 'A', is the stump of a second standing stone, on the crown of a sand-hillock, though at a lower level than 'A'. Two other fragments of this stone lie on the adjacent slopes. It has obviously been previously broken, repaired and re-erected near its original site by being fixed into a base of mortar-set stones. Coles states that when complete it would have stood 4'6 1/2" high and 8' - 9' in girth at the base; the RCAHMS consider that its original height was only 3 1/2/' and 5' in girth (1926, confirmed 1974)."

The Northern Antiquarian (TNA) also feature a page for this site - see their entry for Gala Braes (1), Bathgate, West Lothian, which has directions for finding this site together with the site shown on the 1854 OS map, a 1903 drawing of this standing stone and a brief archaeology & history. TNA add: The late great Alexander Thom (1990:2:341) also visited the site, but despite its impressive landscape setting and relative proximity to Gala Braes 2 (nearly 75 yards to the west), he could find no astronomical orientations here.  Astonishing!"

This standing stone is featured on The Ancient Stones: A Guide to Standing Stones and Stone Circles in the South of Scotland - see their entry for he Standing Stone, Galabraes, Bathgate, which includes a description, directions for finding this stone together with nearby parking and fieldnotes.
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Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by postman : Site in West Lothian Scotland Edinburgh suburb of Bathgate beyond (Vote or comment on this photo)

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing NE (25.08.18) : The South face of Gala Braes Menhir (Vintage) (Vote or comment on this photo)

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by Bladup : Galabraes standing stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by Dodomad : Galabraes Standing Stone, Bathgate Hills, West Lothian, Scotland, today. View to north. Panorama. Photo Credit: Jason Gilchrist @jgilchrist13 on Twitter (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99 : WNW Face of Galabraes E Standing Stone. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99 : S Face of Galabraes E Standing Stone.

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99 : ESE Face of Galabraes E Standing Stone.

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99 : NNE Face of Galabraes E Standing Stone.

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99 : Galabraes W Standing Stone viewed from above.

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99 : Galabraes W Standing Stone viewed from E.

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by markj99

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing NE (25.08.18) : The flat Southern face of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing SE (25.08.18) : Lichen growth on the NW edge of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing SW (25.08.18) : Modern carvings on the back of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing N (25.08.18) : The Southern face of the 160cm Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing N (25.08.18) : The Southern face of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing E (25.08.18) : The Western side of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing SE (25.08.18) : The NW side of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing S (25.08.18) : The North face of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing SW (25.08.18) : The NE side of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing W (25.08.18) : The Eastern side of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing SW (25.08.18) : The NE side of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by AstroGeologist : Facing W (25.08.18) : The Eastern side of the Menhir

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by Anne T : As we were walking away from the stone, we spotted some really old boundary features in the south east of the field and had stopped to photograph them. I head some loud cawing from above, and caught this crow bobbing up and down on top of the stone. Eerie!

Galabraes
Galabraes submitted by Anne T : The standing stone really stands out proudly on top of the southern slope up to the top of the ridge upon which it sits.

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"Galabraes" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Re: Galabraes by markj99 on Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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I visited Galabraes Standing Stones, passing by from Cairnpapple Hill Cairn on 22.04.23. The area around the E stone has been cleared and the stone is in good condition however the W stone stump in in danger of being engulfed by gorse bushes (see submitted photo).
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Re: Galabraes by Anonymous on Thursday, 20 May 2010
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