Explore!

Explore! Our articles cover anything and everything to do with West Lothian, West Edinburgh and Falkirk.

A selection of what goes into print is published here.

Browse the archives below or use the archive menu to sort by category, or use the search bar to find a specific reference.

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Black Springs Stroll

Jul 3, 2018
2 min

Black Springs Stroll

Regular readers will know that I love finding a local walk but I have been so busy recently that I haven’t had time for much exploring. That said, I take my opportunities when I can get them so when I was taking the teens for a promised crepe from Vanilla Pod at Harlaw Reservoir, I saw my chance for some exercise and fresh air albeit at an area I have walked in many times. The car park was full so we had to park down the road and walk up to the car park and through the woods

Dougal Haston: From Currie to Everest

Feb 1, 2018
3 min

Dougal Haston: From Currie to Everest

Up, always up. Currie lad Dougal Haston went from rambling around the Pentland Hills to being one of the first British climbers to conquer Everest, choosing a route up the South West face that had never been climbed before, and has not been attempted since. Born in Currie in 1940 Dougal Haston had the urge to climb from a young age, and along with his friends he developed his skills as a boy climbing on the railway embankments and bridges in Currie. Exuberance turned to child

A wander in Dreghorn Woods

Feb 5, 2017
3 min

A wander in Dreghorn Woods

In the process of looking for a new place to stretch the legs, I came across an article from the Woodland Trust about a relatively new woodland, planted as a Scotland’s First World War Centenary Wood. Nestled in the Pentland Hills, Dreghorn Woods was officially opened in 2015. Owned by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), it’s one of four large areas of woodland being created through the First World War Centenary Woods Project. It includes a stone structure created

A day in the life of a Natural Heritage Officer

Oct 1, 2016
3 min

A day in the life of a Natural Heritage Officer

When you and (most probably) your dog make your way round Harlaw Reservoir, you’ll pass the Visitor Centre, which is opened and closed each day by a Natural Heritage Officer, formerly known as a countryside ranger. Did you ever wonder what else they do? I recently met Victor Partridge, who has worked for the City of Edinburgh Council as a Natural Heritage Officer for the past 23 years. From Bury in Lancashire, Victor’s love of the countryside led him to earn a degree in geolo

Pentland Heist

Sep 1, 2015
6 min

Pentland Heist

Thirty years ago, Pentland Hills Regional Park was at the centre of a police investigation when what appeared to be little more than a winter road accident in the hills transpired to be one of the bloodiest heists ever played out on Scottish soil. On a snowy morning in January 1985, a local farmer discovered an army Land Rover lodged in a ditch in the Pentland Hills, on a quiet country track near Flotterstone Inn. Its lights were still glowing and window wipers on. Spotting

Hare Hill Crash

Nov 3, 2011
4 min

Hare Hill Crash

In 1943 Britain was at war. On a clear day, from the top of Hare Hill in the Pentland Hills, you could see a great deal of Edinburgh. You would recognise Corstorphine Hill gracing the city’s West, and make out the Leith Docks flanking it on the North. But on the night of 24th March 1943, the Pentland Hills were swathed in dense fog. Anyone searching for the city in the dark that night would find it difficult—and not only because of the inclement weather. National blackout reg