Visit Bathgate Places

Welcome to Visit Bathgate Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Bathgate

  

Bathgate Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Bathgate

---

Bathgate history

---

Medieval (c1100–1500)

Bathgate first enters the chronicles of history in a confirmation charter by King Malcolm IV of Scotland (1141 – 9 December 1165) In royal charters of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, the name of Bathgate has appeared as: Bathchet (1160), Bathket (1250) and Bathgetum (1316) Bathcat is a “manifest corruption” of an earlier Cumbric name meaning ‘Boar Wood’ (cf. Welsh baedd coed)

17th–18th centuries

In 1606 silver ore was found at nearby ZHilderston, in the shadow of Cairnpapple Hill, by a prospecting collier. This accidental discovery began a short-lived crown “project” in the area. Advisers to King James VI of Scotland became aware of the discovery and repossessed the land for the crown.

19th century

Glenmavis Distillery in Bathgate was purchased in 1831 by John McNab. In 1885, the distillery was producing 80,000 gallons of single malt a year which was transported to Scotland, England and the colonies. Bathgate Academy was built by the Edinburgh architects R & R Dickson.

20th century

The Bathgate-Edinburgh railway line was re-opened to passengers for the first time since the 1950s. The world’s oldest known reptile fossil, Westlothiana lizziae, was discovered in East Kirkton Quarry, Bathgate in 1987. Notable Bathgate residents have included Debbie Geddes, Stephen Gallacher, Bernard Gallagher, former captain of the Ryder Cup Team, David Tennant and Sir James Young Simpson.

Bathgate culture & places

Land art

Part of the M8 Art Project saw the artist Patricia Leighton’s ‘Sawtooth Ramps’ project being built in 1993, now more commonly referred to as the Pyramids. The sculpture is 1,000 feet (300 m) long and consists of seven 36-foot (11 m) high ramps.

Music

Bathgate was home to rock band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie in the 1980s and 1990s. It was a success of the local college’s Music Industry course.

You can visit Bathgate places with Walkfo Bathgate to hear history at Bathgate’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Bathgate has 18 places to visit in our interactive Bathgate map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Bathgate, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Bathgate places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Bathgate & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 18 audio facts unique to Bathgate places in an interactive Bathgate map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Bathgate Places Map
18 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

---

–

Bathgate historic spots	Bathgate tourist destinations	Bathgate plaques	Bathgate geographic features
Walkfo Bathgate tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Bathgate

  

Best Bathgate places to visit

---

Bathgate has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Bathgate’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Bathgate’s information audio spots:

Bridge Castle Bridge Castle is an L-plan castle dating from the 16th century. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north west of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The former name of the castle was Little Brighouse.

Pyramids (Bathgate) The Pyramids are a land sculpture alongside the M8 motorway at Bathgate. The sculpture was created by artist Patricia Leighton in 1993. It is 1,000 feet (300 m) long and consists of seven 36-foot (11 m) high ramps.

Cairnpapple Hill Cairnpapple Hill is a hill with a dominating position in central lowland Scotland with views from coast to coast. It was used and re-used as a major ritual site over about 4000 years. The summit lies 312 m above sea level, and is about 2 miles (3 km) north of Bathgate.

Visit Bathgate plaques