Side Trip to West Lothian & the Forth Valley

Side Trip to West Lothian & the Forth Valley

West Lothian comprises a good bit of Scotland's central belt. The River Forth snakes across a widening floodplain on its descent from the Highlands, and by the time it reaches the western extremities of Edinburgh, it has already passed below the mighty Forth bridges and become a broad estuary. Castles and stately homes sprout thickly on both sides of the Forth.

Cramond

At this compact coastal settlement, you can watch summer sunsets upriver of where the Almond joins the Firth of Forth. The river's banks, once the site of mills and industrial works, now have pleasant, leafy walks.

Dalmeny House

The first of the stately houses clustered on the western edge of Edinburgh, Dalmeny House is the home of the earl and countess of Rosebery. This 1815 Tudor Gothic mansion displays among its sumptuous contents the best of the family's famous collection of 18th-century French furniture. Highlights include the library, the Napoléon Room, the Vincennes and Sevres porcelain collections, and the drawing room, with its tapestries and intricately wrought French furniture.

B924, by South Queensferry. 0131/331-1888. www.dalmeny.co.uk. £5. July and Aug., Sun.-Tues. 2-5:30; last admission at 4:30.

South Queensferry

This pleasant little waterside community, a former ferry port, is completely dominated by the Forth Bridges,dramatic structures of contrasting architecture that span the Firth of Forth at this historic crossing point. The Forth Rail Bridge was opened in 1890 and at the time hailed as the eighth wonder of the world, at 2,765 yards long—except on a hot summer's day when it expands by about another yard. Its neighbor is the 1,993-yard-long Forth Road Bridge, in operation since 1964.

Hopetoun House

The palatial premises of Hopetoun House, probably Scotland's grandest courtly seat and home of the marquesses of Linlithgow, are considered to be among the Adam family's finest designs. The enormous house was started in 1699 to the original plans of Sir William Bruce (1630-1710), then enlarged between 1721 and 1754 by William Adam (1689-1748) and his sons Robert and John. There's a notable painting collection, and the house has decorative work of the highest order, plus all the trappings to keep you entertained: a nature trail, a restaurant in the former stables, and a museum. Much of the wealth that created this sumptuous building came from the family's mining interests in the surrounding regions.

Off A904, 6 mi west of South Queensferry. 0131/331-2451. www.hopetounhouse.com. £8. Mar.-Sept., daily 10-5:30, last admission at 4:30; Oct., daily 11-4, last admission at 3:30.

Linlithgow Palace

On the edge of Linlithgow Loch stands the splendid ruin of Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1542. Burned, perhaps accidentally, by Hanoverian troops during the last Jacobite rebellion in 1746, this impressive shell stands on a site of great antiquity, though nothing for certain survived an earlier fire in 1424. The palace gatehouse was built in the early 16th century, and the central courtyard's elaborate fountain dates from around 1535. The halls and great rooms are cold, echoing stone husks now in Historic Scotland's care.

A706, south shore of Linlithgow Loch. 01506/842896. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk. £4.50. Mar.-Sept., daily 9:30-6:30; Oct.-Mar., daily 9:30-4:30.

Falkirk Wheel

In 2002, British Waterways opened the only rotating boatlift in the world, linking two major waterways, the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Considered an engineering marvel, the wheel transports eight or more boats at a time overland from one canal to the other in about 45 minutes. The boats float into a cradle-like compartment full of water; as the wheel turns, they are transported up or down to meet the destination canal. You can board tour boats at Falkirk to ride the Wheel, or you can take a multiday barge cruise between Edinburgh and Glasgow; book in advance. At Falkirk, allow 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time to pick up your tickets and choose your boat.

Lime Rd., Tamfourhill. 01324/619888; 08700/500208 reservations. www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk. Boat trips £8; visitor center free. Boat trips, Apr.-Oct., daily 9:30-5; Nov.-Mar., daily 10-3. Visitor center, Apr.-Oct., daily 9-5; Nov.-Mar. 10-5.

Culross

With its Mercat Cross, cobbled streets, tolbooth, and narrow wynds (alleys), Culross, on the muddy shores of the Forth, is now a living museum of a 17th-century town and one of the most remarkable little towns in Scotland. It once had a thriving industry and export trade in coal and salt (the coal was used in the salt-panning process). It also had, curiously, a trade monopoly in the manufacture of baking girdles (griddles). As local coal became exhausted, the impetus of the industrial revolution passed Culross by, and other parts of the Forth Valley prospered. Culross became a backwater town, and the merchants' houses of the 17th and 18th centuries were never replaced by Victorian developments or modern architecture. In the 1930s the then-new and also very poor National Trust for Scotland started to buy up the decaying properties. With the help of other agencies, these buildings were conserved and brought to life. Today ordinary citizens live in many of the National Trust properties. A few—the Palace, Study, and Town House—are open to the public.

Off A985, 8 mi south of Dollar. 01383/880359. www.nts.org.uk. Palace, Study, and Town House £5. Palace, Study, and Town House July and Aug., daily 10-6; late Mar.-late June and Sept.-late Oct., daily noon-5; last admission 1 hr before closing.

Dunfermline

Dunfermline was once the world center for the production of damask linen, but the town is better known today as the birthplace of millionaire industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). Undoubtedly Dunfermline's most famous son, Carnegie endowed the town with a park, library, health and fitness center, and, naturally, a Carnegie Hall, still the focus of culture and entertainment.

The 18th-century weaver's cottage where Carnegie was born in 1835 is now the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum. Don't be misled by the cottage's exterior. Inside it opens into a larger hall, where documents, photographs, and artifacts relate Carnegie's fascinating life story. You'll learn such obscure details as the claim that Carnegie was one of only three men in the United States then able to translate Morse code by ear as it came down the wire. Moodie St. 01383/724302. www.carnegiebirthplace.com. £2. Apr.-Oct., Mon.-Sat. 11-5, Sun. 2-5

The Pittencrieff House Museum tells the story of the town's damask linen industry. Pittencrieff Park. 01383/313838 or 01383/722935. www.scottishmuseums.org.uk. Free. Apr.-Sept., daily 11-5; Oct.-Mar., daily 11-4

The Dunfermline Abbey and Palace complex was founded in the 11th century by Queen Margaret, the English wife of the Scots king Malcolm III. Some Norman work can be seen in the present church, where Robert the Bruce (1274-1329) lies buried. The palace grew from the abbey guesthouse and was the birthplace of Charles I (1600-1649). Dunfermline was the seat of the royal court of Scotland until the end of the 11th century, and its central role in Scottish affairs is explored by means of display panels dotted around the drafty but hallowed buildings. Monastery St. 01383/739026. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk. £2.20. Apr.-Sept., daily 9:30-6:30; Oct.-Mar., Mon.-Wed. and Sat. 9:30-4, Thurs. 9:30-noon and Sun. 2-4:30; last admission half hr before closing

Deep Sea World

The former ferry port in North Queensferry dropped almost into oblivion after the Forth Road Bridge opened but was dragged abruptly back into the limelight when the hugely popular Deep Sea World arrived in 1993. This sophisticated "aquarium"—for want of a better word—on the Firth of Forth offers a fascinating view of underwater life. Go down a clear acrylic tunnel for a diver's-eye look at more than 5,000 fish, including 250 sharks (some over 9 feet long); and visit the exhibition hall, which has an Amazon jungle display and an audiovisual presentation on local marine life. Ichthyophobes will feel more at ease in the adjacent café and gift shop.

North Queensferry. 01383/411880. www.deepseaworld.com. £8.55. Apr.-Oct., daily 10-6; Nov.-Mar., weekdays 11-5, weekends 10-6; last admission 1 hr before closing.

West Lothian By Train

Dalmeny, Linlithgow, and Dunfermline all have rail stations and can be reached from Edinburgh Waverley station.