Journey in the footsteps of shale and farming folk
The Shale Trail is a 16 mile walking and cycling route between Winchburgh and West Calder that passes through the heart of the West Lothian shale field. Wayside markers along this route link to pages of the Shale Trail website which provide a guide to your journey, and a fascinating introduction to many aspects of Scotland's pioneering oil shale.
Our Shale Country Rambles explore some further walks through the former shalemining districts and look at how this special history is still reflected in the landscape. Most of these routes link to the Shale Trail therefore for the sake of completeness, we also include Shale Trail routes in these pages and explore a little more of their history.
See index map showing all footpaths.