A 90 mile walk (in nine sections) across West, Mid and East Lothian. The full traverse has been designed as a quiet, scenic route along quiet footpaths and lanes, with a minimal amount of roadside walking. All sections are easily reached by public transport.
Author's time : 9 days
Distance : 114.4km
Vertical gain : 702m
Vertical drop : 854m
Highest point : 350m
Lowest point : 1m 
Difficulty : Moderate
Back to starting point : No
Walking
Location : North Lanarkshire
Starting point : N 55.8627° / W 3.76045° 
Ending point : N 55.997563° / W 2.540939° This walk needs several days, please find the details below.
First leg of a 90-mile walk (in 9 stages) across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Second leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Third Leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Fourth Leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Sixth Leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Seventh Leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Eighth, penultimate, leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
Find more information about this walk on Roy's Edimburg Walks website here.
Visorando and this author cannot be held responsible in the case of accidents or problems occuring on this walk.
Lothian is the region of the Scottish Lowlands lying between the Firth of Forth and the Southern Uplands. It encompasses the old, historic counties of West Lothian, Edinburghshire (Midlothian), and East Lothian. The complete ‘Lothian Transect Route' crosses the whole of the Lothians, from its far western edge (Harthill) to its most easterly point (Dunglass), in nine 10-mile long sections. All nine legs have been designed to begin and end at places well served by public transport.
West Lothian sits astride the main routes between Edinburgh and the west. Originally a pleasant, fertile and well-wooded county, West Lothian became industrialised from the 1840s onwards. First ironstone, then coal and shale mining dotted the landscape with bings. Today the remaining bings are treasured as industrial monuments - the pink ones are shale, the grey ones coal. Since WWII the heavy industry has gone and been replaced by electronics and service industries. Thousands of houses came with the development of Livingstone New Town. Such overspill towns were an ambitious post-WWII attempt to meet Scotland’s housing challenge, caused by the shortage in the big cities. Despite all these C19th and C20th developments it is possible to walk across West Lothian along quiet footpaths, through pleasant community woodlands, over reclaimed bings, along riversides and though old country parks.
Midlothian provides more space and solitude. The transect route crosses through the Pentland Hills, ever popular with hill walkers or outdoor enthusiasts, and then onward through more old mining and manufacturing areas into a rich agricultural landscape. Old railway lines nowadays provide handy walking and cycling paths.
East Lothian is one of the most picturesque areas of Scotland. It also had an extremely important agricultural and industrial past. Officially the sunniest and driest area in Scotland, it has a gentle, open aspect and is home to a rich variety of wildlife. It is bounded on the south by the Lammermuir Hills and stretches eastwards to the boundary with Scottish Borders at Dunglass.
18.72km
+124m
-109m
5h40
Easy
Starting point in North Lanarkshire First leg of a 90-mile walk (in 9 stages) across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
14.97km
+24m
-115m
4h20
Easy
Starting point in West Lothian Second leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
13.88km
+44m
-77m
4h05
Easy
Starting point in West Lothian Third Leg of a 90-mile walk across the whole of the Lothians, using quiet footpaths, country parks, disused railway lines, river banks, tracks and the occasional minor road.
5.92km
+119m
-125m
2h00
Moderate
Starting point in South Lanarkshire Best experienced after a period of sustained rainfall, this section of the River Clyde is pretty spectacular. Starting in the historical village of New Lanark, the track forms the last section of the Clyde Walkway and is basically a woodland walk with viewpoints to the waterfalls along the river, the most photographed of these being Corra Linn which plunges down 26m over the rocks!
6.79km
+477m
-477m
3h20
Difficult
Starting point in South Lanarkshire A good one if you are new to hill walking thanks to the well-trodden footpath from start to finish. Lovely views of Lanarkshire and beyond on a clear day! Tinto summit is at 711m / 2332ft so a serious hill walk.
2.55km
+44m
-36m
0h50
Easy
Starting point in Fife Known locally as “The Glen”, the beautiful 76 acre Pittencrieff Park was gifted to the people of Dunfermline by Andrew Carnegie. This short walk takes in some of the park’s best bits before allowing you to explore Dunfermline Abbey, burial site of King Robert the Bruce. Keep a look out for the resident peacocks whilst in the park!
For more walks, use our search engine.
The GPS track and description are the property of the author.
