Getting There
Sat Nav: EH47 0AD
Leave the M8 at Junction 4 and follow the signs to Whitburn A801, eastbound 3rd exit, westbound 1st exit.
At the T-junction turn right signed Whitburn, Lanark A705. Enter Whitburn and continue ahead. Bear left onto the B7066 and turn right into Polkemmet Country Park. The car park is at the end of the driveway.
Return to M8 Junction 4
Turn left at the park entrance and bear right onto the B7069 (Polkemmet Road).
Branch left and continue ahead through Whitburn.
Turn left onto the A801 to return to Junction 4 of the M8.
Return to M8 Junction 5
Turn right out of the park, and then turn right at the sign for the M8. Continue ahead and turn right onto the B7057 to return to M8 Junction 5.
Polkemmet Country Park
Length of walk: 25-90 minutes
This country park has been formed from the grounds of the earlier Baillie Estate, after the local council rescued the area from decay in the 1980s.
Now everyone can enjoy walking through this very gracious woodland on one of the trails that have been planned here.
There’s a good choice of routes. The Red, Yellow and Blue routes are both under 2 miles, and the Green route is longer at just over 3 miles. There are also plenty of smaller paths to wander off on.
The Red and Blue routes start from the left of the car park entrance, and the Yellow and Green routes start just before the entrance to the car park.
On the early summer morning we visited there was no one else around, and the birds were chorusing loudly in the woods. It seemed hard to believe that the motorway was just a few miles away.
Jem loved this walk as the park hasn’t been over-tended and so it’s ideal for dogs to snuffle in. The River Almond trickles through the park, but isn’t deep enough for dog swimming.
The slightly surreal mausoleum fairly near the red and blue route start point is a memorial for one Robert Baillie, fourth Baronet of Polkemmet, a member of the family that owned this land for 350 years until 1957.
As an extension to the red or blue trails, visit ‘the Horn’. This is a sculpture that was commissioned to liven up the view from the M8. It is supposed to emit a recorded message from the base, and we enjoyed a mad moment trying to get it to work – you may be more lucky than we were!
Facilities
Free parking. WCs are at the end of a former stable block. Children’s playground – including a steam train engine – the Dardanelles. Picnic tables and BBQ area. Dog poo bins. Note that the children’s ‘Fantasy Forest’ is off-limits to dogs.