Galabraes

Trip No.7  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 25th Aug 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: 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)

Knock Stone Circle

Trip No.7  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Modern Stone Circle etc Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 25th Aug 2018. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3

Log Text: Knock Stone Circle :

The Knock Stone Circle has 50 stones, with 17 of them in the smaller circle (although an 18th one may have been moved and now laying in the centre next to the Dolmen)
Inside the inner circle is a mini Dolmen raised up off the grass by 3 tiny stones, and a small Menhir to the West of the Dolmen.
Outside the circle, around 60m to the NE, standing on a small ridge is a waist height Menhir, it has an unusual shape to it, reminding me of a Cetacea of some sort.

The Mystery Stones ;
No one knows exactly when these stones got put up, there are several stories doing the rounds regarding them. The stones look old, but we are told they only got put up less than 25 years ago.

*Some sources say it was built in 1998 by the farmers son at Knock Farm as a surprise for his dads 50th - would his dad not have noticed this massive circle being built?
*Others have told me it was actually built in memory of his father when he passed away - it may be difficult to find out when he passed away.
*And lastly, the comment below suggests it wasn't built in 2006 when an artist was painting the area - why was he painting an empty, featureless field l wonder? could this painter be mistaken?

Is it possible some of these stones were there already and the farmers son rebuilt them? Or perhaps the NE Menhir was always there, No one really knows, and the farmers son has never been interviewed.

Whatever the case may be, the Stone Circle looks spectacular, especially on a Sunny day. I like the small Dolmen in the centre, it is a nice touch.

Definitely worth a look when on your way to Cairnpapple Henge & Cairn, which is visible from the Stone Circle.

*Getting There ; About an hour walk from Bathgate train station, which is 3.9km away.

Coming from the Gala Braes Menhir, continue North on along the country road for 1.6km. There are no turns to take, just a slight bend in the road, getting here is pretty straightforward.

Cairnpapple Hill

Trip No.7  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Round Cairn Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 25th Aug 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3

Log Text: Cairnpapple :

The site contains ;
*Neolithic Henge & Timber post holes
*Bronze Age Cists and Cairns
*Iron age burials

The main attraction is the Cairn with burial Cists inside. What was once a solid Cairn packed tight with thousands of stones, and burial Cists in the centre, it is now empty and covered by a protective concrete dome, letting us walk amongst the burial chambers. To enter the Cairn you must climb stairs to the summit, turn around, and climb down backwards, as if going down a set of ladders. The Northern grave at the far end has a large Menhir standing at it's Western end. And the Southern Chamber still has a massive Cup Marked Capstone on top of it (Although it is propped open letting us see inside) It is an amazing restoration job they have done, and being alone in the tomb was special, connecting to the spirits of old.

Outside is a massive Henge encircling the whole area, between the Henge and Cairn are a series of 14 holes believed to be Timber Postholes, which are impressive in their own right in a strange sort of way, they are now lined with red chips to try and prevent weeds growing through. Between the holes in the East are 4 Graves, two of which are aligned East~West.

Surrounding the Cairn is a stone chipped area, surrounded by a massive Stone Circle, made using boulders instead of Menhirs, the guy in the hut told me a few of these rocks were supposedly magnetic, so l tested them all, and found 3 that had slight magnetism.
Between this Stone Circle and Cairn are another series of holes, the remains of 13 in all, but these ones are much larger than the ones on the grassy outer henge part.

It is a most peculiar site, there is something magical about it.

I spent 2 hours there, and watched many people come and go, most people stayed for 15 minutes or so, so even though it was really busy at point's, there were times l had the whole place to myself, which was great.
Highly recommended.

*Getting There ; Around an 1hr 15m walk from Bathgate train station, which is 5km away.

Coming from Knock Stone Circle, continue North on along the country road for 1.05km. There are no turns to take, just a couple of bends in the road, getting here is pretty straightforward.
Upon reaching the entrance gate you climb some step's and reach a field with cows & a Bull roaming around, the Bull l saw was massive.
At the top of the entrance steps, to the left are some scatteres boulders, it looks to me like they have been placed there, and may be another ancient site, as far as l know it hasnt been excavated/investigated yet.

Walk through the Cattle field and enter the Cairnpapple field, which is fenced of to stop the cows destroying the site. An entrance fee is paid at a small visitors hut, which houses some artifacts and the history of the site.
The guy l spoke to was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Gormyre

Trip No.7  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 25th Aug 2018. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Gormyre Menhir :

Made of Red Grit Sandstone, the Menhir is small, only 1.2m tall, but it isnt the size thats important, it's the location that is. l tried to picture the landscape when this may have been placed here, l cant imagine too much having changed, apart from the flora perhaps, and maybe some dwellings have came and gone since then.

The location is nice and peaceful, from leaving Cairnpapple until reaching Torpichen l didn't encounter a single person. Which was a walking time of nearly an hour. l was wondering if there was possibly more stones with this in the past, or if it had spent its days alone. Plain Menhir, but worth the visit and glad l came to see it.

From here Torpichen Preceptory Menhir is about a 20 minute walk away.

*Getting There ; Around a half hour walk from Cairnpapple, which is 2.2km away
(or a 1.6km walk if coming from the Torpichen Cup Marked Menhir)

Coming from Cairnpapple, go back out the main entrance onto the same country road that brings you from Knock Stone Circle, continue North until you come to a road and turn left. Walk down this road for a couple of minutes and take your next right. Walk North for about 475m and take your 2nd left down a long 450m+ tree lined country road, follow this to the end and take the sharp right, then left and you will come to a gated field.
You will see the Menhir standing against the horizon. Take the tractor path up to a gate in the field, and remember to be careful if the farmer has crops in when you visit.

Torphichen Churchyard Stone

Trip No.7  Date Added: 4th Jul 2019
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Scotland (West Lothian)
Visited: Yes on 25th Aug 2018. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Torpichen Cup Marked Menhir :

This 75cm tall Cup Marked Menhir sits in the graveyard of the Torpichen Preceptory, which was built around the site of the Menhir by the Knights Hospitallers in 1168, who built the Preceptory on the site of an earlier Celtic Cell.
The Menhir has associations with Irish Monks, Ringan (St Ninian) in the 4th century & MoEcca (St Féchín) in the 7th.

The Celtic carvings that once adorned this Menhir, are thought to date from this period (but sadly they no longer remain)
Five small cup-marks on the East face of the Menhir date from the early Bronze Age when it stood on Cairnpapple Hill (2km away to the East) the Cup Mark on top looks like it has been deepened at a later date, probably when the Knights added the cross.

The location is a bit unusual, it now sit's under a Yew Tree, and a modern gravestone is situated between the Menhir and the Tree, making it difficult to get photograph's of it that don't contain graves.
There are plenty of fascinating graves to be seen but the Sandstone Menhir is spectacular looking, and feeling. Even if it is small.
The shape of it, along with the Cup Marks really give off a feeling of importance.

It's true history may be lost, due to the many uses of the Menhir over the millennia. But one thing it hasn't lost, is character.

*Getting There ; Around a 20 minute walk from Gormyre Menhir, which is 1.6km away
(or a 4.9km walk if coming from the Bathgate train station)

Coming from Gormyre, go back to the gate and turn right, follow this country road for 1.3km, take the turns of the road but there are NO turn off's to take. Just keep walking and you'll end up in Torpichen.
Its mostly downhill. Once you get to Torpichen take your 1st left and walk along a couple hundred metres and you'll arrive at the Torpichen Preceptory.