The Shale Trail - West Lothian Walk

[@johnnyboy-f6v]

Wow! That is some walk! West Calder to Winchburgh. Very interesting. Thank you.

[@alasdairmackenzie905]

Great video and wonderful commentary. Many thanks for making this. Just one issue with it: you comment on the Almond being polluted. While that was very definitely the case, much of it in more recent times from the overflow of the flooded abandoned Polkemet coal mine and the now closed sewage disposal plant, it is now very much improved and the river through Livingston is now home to otters, which is as good an indication you can get of its cleanliness, indicating also that there are plenty of fish living in its depths to keep them fed. As an aside, I wonder how many people know that this area is where the mighty BP had its origins and that West Lothian was one of the world's major oil producing areas long before Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and wherever else had ever been heard of !

[@ian38018a]

There were 27 of these bings in West Lothian when I grew up, and few communities within the county did not have at least one towering over them. Although I am sure a few folks must have viewed them in a rather different light after the Aberfan Disaster of 1967. Whether this was a factor in their gradual removal - the red shale makes a fine packing for roads, I believe - I do not know. But, as of today there are but 19 remaining; 23, if you count Addiewell’s Five Sisters as separate bings.

[@OldfieldSo]

Beautiful video

[@davidlewington198]

A few miles from my home in East Whitburn, thanks for making this video 👍

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

No worries David, I'm glad you liked it! It's handy having a wee trail on our doorstep 😁

[@davidmcgeachie4584]

Lovely video thanks..didn't know how nice WLothian could be when i grew up there.

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

To be honest, me neither David 😄 The more I explore though, the more surprised I am at all the nice wee areas there are.

[@WalkWithWallace]

Nicely done Kris, braw footage and narration. 👌🏼 Squint your eyes and that's the 5 Sisters of Kintail. 😁

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Cheers Robin! Haha, I didn't tag it with five sisters incase folk thought i was trying to lure them in with clickbait lol 😂

[@WalkWithWallace]

@@ScottishMountainGoat ach, clickbait is alive and well on KZbin. 😂

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

So true haha 😄

[@hamshanksproductions7161]

Really enjoyed your film. Regards Barrie

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks for watching Barrie. Appreciate it! Kris.

[@kiplingandme2019]

Great video. I have been cycling the trail in sections and the video is a really good guide.

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks! I wouldn't mind cycling it myself one day, it's a fantastic route! Appreciate the comment!

[@PAADVENTURES1]

Great video again kris. I'm really enjoying your bird shots. You put a huge amount of work into your videos! Cheers for sharing. Paul

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks Paul! Those shots are a nightmare to get, I'll need to get some camouflage so i stop scaring them away haha. Appreciate it! Kris.

[@brianmckendrick5062]

Brilliant video mate. Looking forward to walking it this summer.

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Same here Brian. Just hope my fitness is still good enough to head for the hills 😅

[@bigrstransport6783]

U should try walking near wester inch bathgate as there's is 3 disused mineshafts lefts abandoned some still lay open till this day

[@GrahamSFarr]

That was a great one, Kris - really enjoyed it.

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks Graham! Much appreciated! 🙂

[@JawzDiesel]

I done the full route back in July took me just 5 hours to complete it

[@benjaminzac_Man_Wi_A_Tan]

Very nice video. Again I like the history and the wildlife spotting too. Good stuff bud. Looks like your on the same wavelength as Beluga Lagoon.

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed. I'll give them a check out! Cheers, Kris.

[@jaybee2786]

Very good

[@RoyaltyTrader]

you walked past my house when you were going to see the five sisters.

[@edinburghwalks9137]

excellent dear

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thank you, appreciate it 🙂

[@kobebaba]

Nice one Kris

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks Sam. Glad I could help put the little one to sleep 😆

[@GazTheExplorer]

Just want to say congratulations on reaching 1K subs. You have made some great videos of West Lothian since the start of Lockdown including that video of the Bathgate hills👍 Hopefully we will get a camp together some time this year👍

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Cheers Gaz! Much appreciated! It's been a lot of work as I'm sure you know! 😄 Yeh that would be good. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon and we can get back to the hills. Cheers mate!

[@NoFuture4World]

Another superb vid and nice zoom of birds. What kind of camera do you use?

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks, much appreciated! I use the Panasonic GH5 for most footage. The telephoto lens I use is the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm. I was thinking I might do a small video on my setup in future, if you think you would find something like that useful?

[@NoFuture4World]

@@ScottishMountainGoat Thanks, I think It's good idea. I do a lot of pics on my trips but I want to do some videos in the future as well.

[@smujiodome]

Great video.Thank you for sharing it. I wonder why the walk terminates at Winchburgh and not Philpston.

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks Bluesky! Appreciate it. I'm not sure either I'm afraid. They have a Facebook group and are pretty responsive at replying to chat messages . They might be able to give you a reason.

[@esperoutdoors9421]

great vid. really enjoyed it. i climbed the 5 sisters bings (sounds kinda funny/rude) afew years ago... alot easier than it looks.

[@ToilerOnTheSea]

You missed out a Pint and/or a Dram in the Tally-Ho to finish with 🙂

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Haha, I'll just have to do it all again and have 2 pints to make up for it 😄

[@Tammar57]

At 7 minutes 5 seconds he says Livingston village was the only part of town to exist he forgets to mention Livingston station also existed well before 1962

[@ScottishMountainGoat]

Thanks for the correction Tam!