IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Meadowhead Avenue, WEST CALDER, EH55 8NY

The round discs hanging down from the smaller of the two power lines in the picture are there to stop birds crashing into the power line. Considering that they seem to retail at around £50 each it seems probable that collisions involving bigger birds cause power outages occasionally, and that they are not simply there for the birds' welfare. There must have been around 20 spread across two post-to-post sections, spaced at regular intervals. This could be due to this spot being particularly prone to collisions, or simply due to the discs' prohibitive cost. There seems to be no doubt about their effectiveness, and much is made on adverts about them glowing in the dark, possibly only to birds' eyes though (something to do with them storing up energy during the daytime, but exactly how they do this wasn't made that clear on the adverts I came across). Some studies, though, basically suggest that they are a huge waste of money, as hanging some basic paper bunting between the posts has been found to be pretty much as effective. The red doors on the building ahead belong to Addiewell Farm, and on the left is an old converted church.

Looking east along the Glasgow-Edinburgh, via Shotts, line. On the edge of a small housing estate at Addiebrownhill.

The line from Edinburgh to Glasgow [Central], as seen from the footbridge connecting Platforms 1 & 2.

On a small housing estate at Addiebrownhill.

The village of Stoneyburn can be seen in the distance

The distinctive 'D' shape of Meadowhead Crescent and Meadowhead Place can be clearly seen. Part of the North British Distillers can be seen in the lower right corner. The Skolie Burn Bridge construction site Image can be seen on the left.

The distinctive 'D' shape of Meadowhead Crescent and Meadowhead Place can be clearly seen. Part of the North British Distillers can be seen in the lower right corner. The Skolie Burn Bridge construction site Image can be seen on the left.

Accessible by path from either the back of the school or the two gates to the West of Addiewell Farm. Not much re-landscaping going on here! The fairly rectangular bing is first shown on an 1890s OS map. The previous map from the 1850s shows nothing at all. So obviously between the two maps a fairly large mining operation was present close to here. Bits of the flat wide ridge round here looked at first glance as if some structures had been built on top of it at one point, but the ground wasn't hard. If it isn't dark earth on the surface it may be some kind of coal dust. In the period it was formed, though, shale was being mined in this area far more than coal. It may of course, just have been a general tip - one for the experts, as online investigations reveal nothing.

Looking west along the Edinburgh-Glasgow line via Shotts.