Cairnpapple Hill

20 July 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Cairnpapple Hill, 312m/1,023', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 65, NS 987711

 I was heading to Edinburgh to meet Roddy and then to pick Steven up from the airport and as it was a nice day I left a bit early so that I could visit the prehistoric site at Cairnpapple in the Bathgate hills and also wander up to the summit which is a Marilyn.

Is this the easiest Marilyn in Scotland? From a minor road that goes past the archaeological site it is a walk of only about 200 yards to the trig with an ascent of about 20m. I found a place to park the car close to the gate into the field that contains the highest point. For such a low hill in the midst of industrial central Scotland there was a good all round view. This is looking to Edinburgh and the Pentlands.....

Only the most dedicated of Marilyn collectors would come here just to climb the hill; the main attraction is the monument that was the focus of communal activity here from the 4th millennium BC up to the Christian era. Originally used as a ceremonial site, it changed to a place of burial in the Bronze Age. The main grave that was discovered is now covered by a concrete dome in order to preserve it.....

This is the grave inside its protective dome.....

The monument is on what I suppose is the north top of Cairnpapple Hill. This is a view from the site looking to the higher top in the distance.....

Rather than walk to it from the monument, I simply drove the car further along the road to the field entrance; Marilyn bagging the easy way!