Beecraigs Country Park

Place Name: Beecraigs Country Park

Location: Near Linlithgow, Scotland

Cost: Free

Parking: Plenty, and free to use

Walking distance: Variable, see map: http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/1344/Beecraigs-Country-Park---Map-2015/pdf/BeecraigsParkMap-2015.pdf

Restrictions: Dogs are not allowed into the visitors centre or in the play park. Must be on leads when walking through the caravan site and the animal attraction.

Refreshments: Restaurant is currently closed (April 2015) but drinks and snacks can be purchased from the visitors centre.

Website:  http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/beecraigs

For Easter this year we decided to celebrate the sunny weather with a walk around Beecraigs Country Park. This is our go to walk at weekends when the weather is kind (Missy is thankfully the sort of dog who dislikes torrential rain and sleet just as much as we do) and seemed a good place to start with this blog – please feel free to suggest layout changes, or let me know what sort of information would be useful.

Beecraigs is certainly one of the most family orientated forested areas locally to us. With plenty of activities on throughout the year, generous amounts of hidden geocaches, a massive play park and plenty of open woodland, there is something for everyone. Onsite there is also an ‘animal attraction’ which houses deer, belted Galloway cattle and of course some highland cows. There are also barbeque pits which are apparently bookable through the website – a ban is in place for unauthorised bbqs. Fishing and rowing is available on the lake.

Joggers, cyclists and the occasional horse rider can usually be spotted, so if your four legged friend is prone to chasing, it’s best to keep them on the lead or stay off the main paths. Also on the chasing note, there are deer, rabbits and squirrels aplenty, so be prepared to shout and holler for dog (Missys favourite past time).

For dogs who enjoy a paddle, there is a small lake although it is worth keeping an eye out for people fishing – Missy has a general distrust of water deeper than ankle height, so is not something I’ve had to pay attention to!

With it being Easter, the Visitors Centre had put on an Easter challenge whereby there were twelve questions dotted around the main ‘loop’ of the park – a sheet to put down your results and to try and match the visual clues could be picked up from the visitors centre and the answers were also located on the information board inside. Between us we managed to get all twelve right, but some of them were very challenging questions!

Overall rating: 4/5 – a good day for everyone, although it can be very muddy and certain areas very exposed to the elements, so sensible footwear and clothing is recommended.