Hi,

Just wondered if anyone could suggest decent trails in the Linlithgow/Bo’ness area? I’ve been to the likes of Beecraigs and Muiravonside, but would like to do more ‘natural’ stuff. Grid co-orindates or Google Map references would be fine!
Cheers guys,

Andy

Beecraigs and Muiravonside are most of the clumps of natural stuff. There is a track from the Canal down along the River avon to Linlithgow bridge which is nice but short. I’ve been looking at a loop from the top of Polmont, down the various wooded areas between the houses to polmont woods, up through the station behind Avondale landfill site, up through the motorbike tracks and woodland to the old brickworks at Whitecross, but not tried it all just yet.

Edit – If you have a car, North Third Res, Dumyat are great – Edit

Yeah, I’ve been looking at this route, but am unsure how busy it’ll be with walkers and the like.

Will take a look at North Third Res too…thanks for the recommendation.

did that a couple of years back just after they had put the bridge in above Muiravonside. Take a light bike as there are lots of near vertical steps to get up and down. (it may be different now) I took about 3hrs to go from Avonbridge to Muiravonside. There is some lovely riding along the way, but some distinct carry bits. The lower sectino from Muiravonside is the bit mentioned above.^^

Have you managed to find all the routes around Beecraigs, been up there and never managed to find a workable route!
Not natural but have you tried the shale bing along the canal at Philipstoun rode there years ago and it was interesting, just need to look out for the MX’ers.

Loads of trails In Beecraigs but nothing is signposted (or for that matter very obvious) so you really need local knowledge to get the best out of it. Adjacent to BCP you have Witches Craig (above the Korean War memorial) which has 4 access / egress points – the simplest of which is to climb from the Western end of ‘Guthries Path’ at 990 731. You can do the climb then descend to the KWM or back out to the road that dissects the park N/S at 998 732. On the North side there are trails in the plantation West Of Hillhouse. The East side has trails around the loch and the West has trails above Kipps Farm. I sometimes throw in a climb up and down Cairnpapple / Cockleroy if the weathers good and the grounds dry.

You can link BCP with Muiravonside CP via the trail running E/W across the N’ side of Lochcote reservoir (drop down to the Avon Heritage trail via the road at 954 733) or via the trail running North of the Fort which pops out on the road NE of Easter Carriber at 972 752 (join the canal towpath at Woodcockdale Farm)

As mentioned above the Avon Heritage Trail from the Aquaduct to Lithgae Bridge is superb but you can also extend this out beyond Lithgae Bridge by turning right off the A803 just after the mansion house at 981 773. This takes you out at a sand quarry at 976 783 from here cut back under the Motorway, then West on the 803 to pick up the ROW at 958 783. This takes you all the way back to the canal towpath and the old Kirk at 956 769.

Muiravonside CP has a couple of excellent stretches of Singletrack – one on either side of the main forest road dissecting the park East / West. The Southern side has a newish link trail (via a new plantation) linking down on to the Avon Heritage trail. The AHT can easily be done in less than 2 hrs if you’re not hanging about…

Boness is best linked to Lithgae via the canal (some nice singletrack diversions along the way)heading East from Lithgae then minor roads over to Abercorn Churchyard (new NCP being blasted through there)Nice trail through the upper ( South side) of Wester Shore Wood then along the coast from Blackness to Carriden. From there it’s possible to cut back South to Lithgae via Kinglass/ North Bank via the ROW which dissects West Lothian Golf Course tho the Southern half is really combat biking.

The Avon Heritage trail is a curious mixture of idiotic design and sublime singletrack and everything in between – you really need to try it to find out what can be mixed with other trails. There are two sections currently closed due to rotten boardwalks but you can circumvent these with a little determination 😉

Beecraigs can be brilliant in dry summer weather but right now it’s almost worth avoiding completely (and the reason why I wouldn’t publicise the sneaky stuff)

The various Shale Bings and Sandpits are MX haunts best left to those with engines 😉

Agree with the comments above – one of my favourite cycle x routes – is to go from Bo’ness along the coast east to Blackness, and then keep going through the woods on the coast and cut up to Hopetown before rejoining the sustrans trail through – Hopetoun Estate and then around Dalmeny Estate until Crammond – nothing technical but very enjoyable.

Heather Bash I am a man of simple pleasures, but Guthrie’s Path is a sublime bit of singletrack pity it’s not about 10 times longer!

Andybach – yeah that’s quite good and cx bike ideal. Last time I did that I continued down the East side of the Almond from the old Cramond Brig’ and out to Cramond island itself – some nice if short singletrack on the island. Tide was out obviously and I had contemplated fording the river at Cobble cottage to get back into Dalmeny – audience at the cafe on the pier put me off the notion 😉

I hope the singletrack from Carriden doesn’t vanish under a ribbon of Sustransed tarmac – a little here on the new path through Wester Shore Wood:

http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/downloaddoc/1799514/1841742/1896959/dcpp_mapc

giant_scum – Agreed. Dunno who Guthrie was but he knew a good path when he saw it ;-)Try the superb trails either side of Wallaces cave (on the Avon)You can drop down on to this by exiting Muiravonside CP on the East side, crossing the A801 and following the minor road down to the bend in the river above Crawhill. Unfortunately the bridge /boardwalk UNDER the road bridge is currently closed – you need to get up on the 801 then head North for 300m til you see a gate on the right. Take that and follow the path back down to the river continuing North back into the park. Apart from the missing link under the road (after which the trail then crosses the river again via a very expensive Stresslam bridge) the only section that spoils this is a mental cobbled staircase which climbs straight out the gorge for 200m.

There’s also a ROW almost directly opp the main entrance to MCP – you can take this and turn right on to the old railway line (which carried coal from the Slamannan coal fields to barges on the canal.) and follow the path on the West side of the canal to the road just South of the old Kirk on the East side I was referring to earlier.

Thanks for all the tips heather, giant & Andy. I’ll be sure to check some of these routes out. Been looking for something new for a while, and as you say, there’s no substitute for local knowledge. Cheers again fellas.

Had a quick blast along the Avon Heritage trail this afternoon out of Lithgae. Some interesting trails spring off it which I spent a bit of time investigating. Surprisingly quiet for a Sunday afternoon (only had to squeeze past one dog walker), so I think this could become a regular haunt. Muddy mind you

Just watch the badgers…we got chased by one a few years back when we were coming back along the Avon doodah…