Linlithgow to Caldercruix via California!

The route is in red with a couple of either/or options.

There are many strange and beautiful place names in any given country. A few years ago I discovered Moscow (Moss Haugh) on the Volga Burn not too far from Fenwick just south-west of Glasgow on the way to Kilmarnock. This week, I finally visited California, high up on the back roads behind Falkirk.

The route here follows part of the canal towpath before branching off onto quiet country lanes and back roads. There's not too much traffic to deal with along the whole route. Indeed, at certain points on the road, such is the quietness of it all that you almost get the feeling that you are the last man on earth (especially on California Road leading up to California, the Greyrigg Road outside California, and the Telegraph Road outside Longriggend!). There are, also, a couple of either/or options before and after Slammanan that you can choose to take, all on equally tranquil roads.

From the canal at Linlithgow looking towards the unmistakeable St. Andrew's steeple of St. Michael's church.

From the California Road looking towards Grangemouth, the largest petrochemical works in UK.

 Going to California....

A beautiful day in Californ-i-a...

The slightly creepy Greyrigg Inn on the Greyrigg Road south of California.


The whole area here is gently undulating and beautifully curvaceous, whether roads or land. It is, coupled with the quietness of the roads, a joy to cycle through.

The aptly named Telegraph Road out of Longriggend.

From Longriggend to Caldercruix is only a few kilometres. The latter town has a train station now, so we can ride it back to Glasgow and give our poor feet a rest. Trains are once an hour, so check times, just in case you arrive two minutes too late (there's not a great deal to see and do in Caldercruix!).