Bathgate has existed for hundreds of years but grew during the Shale Oil period.
These days the shale ‘bings’ have largely disappeared under the fresh growth of new shrubs, trees and grasses.
Easter Inch Moss has been created to help restore the peat bog that would originally have been there. Peat bogs are important nowadays to help lock in carbon dioxide.
I recently decided to go for a walk around the area that encompasses Bathgate, Seafield and the area to the west of Livingston. To say I was astonished would be an understatement.
Having never walked the area for around 12 – 15 years I found that the old orange coloured shale bings have completely disappeared under a plethora of new growth. The bings as they were called were the huge mounds that were created after the oil had been extracted from the shale and the remnants were deposited in huge piles around West Lothian. These bings became part of the landscape and were visible from almost anywhere in the county. Over the years much of the shale has been removed to be used in many projects around the country such as sub-bases for roads. Many of them have now been flattened and returned to nature.
Much of the area is now traversed by a series of walking and cycling paths. The area has been allowed very much to return to nature and a project has taken place in recent years to return the area around to peat bogs. Drainage channels have been dammed to raise the water bed and allow the bog to naturally return to a wild state. The circular route I took from the east end of Bathgate starting at Starlaw Road was around six miles and took me about 1 1/4 hours to complete.
Many native trees have returned to the area and since it is now September many of them are covered in berries such as Whitebeam. The Whitebeam berries will wait for the first frosts to sweeten and become an important winter food source for the birds. Yellow and purple Cherry Plum trees were full of delicious looking fruits and various mixed pines such as Scots Pine, Pitch Pine, Lodgepole Pine and Mugo Pine while European Larch and Silver and Downy Birches lined the paths. On one particular path the walk took me through an avenue of English Oak covered with maturing acorns.
Wild rose bushes such as Rugosa Rose, Apple Rose and Dog Rose were covered in beautiful rosy red hips. The path verges are lined with Rosebay Willowherb, Red Clover, Devil’s Bit Scabious and Wall Hawkweed. Patches of Oxeye Daisy were dotted everywhere and a beautiful patch of New York Aster looked as though someone or something had been rolling about in it. Various birds flitted around the trees, shrubs and bushes including the Common Hawthorn.
Flora in this post
Whitebeam (Sorbus Mougeotii)
Cherry Plum (Prunus Cerasifera)
Scots Pine (Pinus Sylvestris)
European Larch (Larix Decidua)
Silver Birch (Betula Pendula)
Downy Birch (Betula Pubescens)
English Oak (Quercus Robber)
European Beech (Fagus Sylvatica)
Mugo Pine (Pinus Mugo)
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus Contorta)
Pitch Pine (Pinus Rigida)
Rugosa Rose (Rosa Rugosa)
Dog Rose (Rosa Canina)
Rosebay Willowherb (Epilobium Angustifolium)
Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense)
Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum Vulgare)
New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)
Common Hawthorn (Crataegus Monogyna)
Devil’s Bit Scabious (Succisa Pratensis)
Wall Hawkweed (Hieracium Murorum)
Apple Rose (Rosa Villosa)
Amanita (Amanitacaea)
The sun rising through the trees.
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