The railway between Bathgate and Airdrie was closed to passengers in 1956 and ceased carrying freight in 1982. A quarter of a century later, work began on rebuilding the line and the project opened for business in 2010. At some point in between, the old trackbed had been converted to a cycleway but he resumption of rail services necessitated the path being moved to the side. A portion of this route is what we are walking here.
Start in the quiet Lanarkshire village of Caldercruix. There is a large free car park close to the station which doesn't seem to be used to anywhere near its capacity. Proceed out of Caldercruix, keeping the railway to your right. Cross the B825 and pick up the obvious tarmac path. An early highlight is Hillend Loch, a naturalised reservoir which spreads out into the distance.
It takes some time to pass then loch before we reach the quirky county boundary marker (pictured above) which denotes the limits of Lanarkshire. We now head into West Lothian. It should also be noted that the new footpath has its fair share of undulations, the gradients being determined by the land surrounding the railway rather than the billiard table trackbed. Trains pass frequently in both directions but there is little variety in rolling stock.
We reach "Station Road" in Blackridge (the modern halt is further down the line) and the path takes a detour around a coal bing. Alternatively, you can walk over the spoil heap following local tracks before rejoining the official route. Most of the mining landscape has returned to agriculture but several scars remain. Eventually we reach Armadale and the station is situated on the very edge of town. There is an ASDA supermarket here should you be in need of sustenance. Hop on a train back to the starting point.
