Cockleroy is a well-known for the views it provides across the Midland Valley. The hill is composed of quartz-dolerite as part of the Midland Valley Sill. This is a tough igneous rock, a variety of dolerite that contains small amounts of quartz. It has formed when magma intruded into existing basalt layers: the dolerite is similar to basalt, but because it cooled down more slowly underground there was more time for the crystals to form and these are just big enough to be seen with the naked eye, unlike in (most) basalts.
The late Bronze Age - Iron Age hillfort, known as Wallace's Bed, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. A stone arrowhead was found at the summit.
Cockleroy is situated west of Beecraigs Country Park, and can be reached by foot from the car park to the east of the hill in the adjacent Country Park. The hill is private land, so respect the land management of grazing sheep and follow the Scottish Outdoor Access code. Nearby geodiversity sites are Wairdlaw Quarry, Hilderston Silver Mine Quarry and Beecraigs Quarry.
To the north of West Calder in West Lothian, this oil-shale bing now supports valuable wildlife habitat including woodland, scrub and flower-rich grassland
West Lothian has changed enormously over the last 330 million years. Evidence of these changes is all around you... if you just know what to look for.
Beechbrae Woodland Centre are a social enterprise and charity based in a 35 acre young woodland
Visit West Lothian, Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston, West Lothian. EH54 6FF UK Registration No. SC346843
Great for