Perambulation of Linlithgow’s Marches

EXPLORE LINLITHGOW’S HERITAGE ALL YEAR ROUND

Introduction to Linlithgow and the Perambulation

Linlithgow is one of Scotland’s most ancient Royal Burghs, its first charter having been granted by King David I in the 1130s. A tradition dating back to the 16th century is the annual Riding of the Marches, on the first Tuesday after the second Thursday in June, which involves the inspection of the extremities of the burgh’s one-time interests at Linlithgow Bridge and at the port of Blackness.

The ‘Perambulation of the Marches’ complements the official Riding of the Marches, giving citizens and visitors the opportunity to walk the line of a recorded boundary (or ‘marches’) of the Royal Burgh – in this case the ‘Parliamentary Boundary’ as established by the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832. After the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892, this also became the boundary of Linlithgow Town Council’s jurisdiction.

The ‘Perambulation of the Marches’ is both an event open to all – which starts at 7pm on the Wednesday evening preceding Linlithgow’s Marches Day (please check www.lbt.scot to confirm that it is running) – and a walk which can be enjoyed at any time.

The walk is 4 miles (6.5 km) long, and passes by seven out of eight march stones (one original and seven replicas, installed in 2014 – see photograph on right) marking the old boundary. This leaflet gives details of both the route and the many features of historical or architectural interest that it passes. The route map can be found in the centre pages.

The ‘Perambulation of the Marches’ starts at March Stone No. 1 in front of St Ninian’s Craigmailen Church in Falkirk Road and proceeds in a clockwise direction round the route. This direction of travel is strongly recommended for safety reasons with regard to visibility at road crossings and steep steps.

We hope that you enjoy your walk and look out for those march stones inscribed ‘LPB’ (Linlithgow Parliamentary Burgh) on top!

This leaflet was originally produced by Linlithgow & Linlithgow Bridge Community Council as a supplementary contribution to the Perambulation of the Marches project. This second edition was published by Linlithgow Civic Trust

The overall Perambulation of the Marches project was developed by Linlithgow Civic Trust in collaboration with the Deacons Court, the Fraternity of Dyers, the Linlithgow Ramblers, Linlithgow Business Association and other local groups. 75% of the original funding came from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Other contributions were received from Linlithgow & Linlithgow Bridge Town Management Group, Linlithgow & Linlithgow Bridge Community Council, Linlithgow Civic Trust, Linlithgow Heritage Trust, councillors’ disbursements and Pride & Passion Linlithgow.