Cairnpapple Hill

I'm sure I've blipped this before, it's one of my favourite historical sites.
Cairnpapple Hill is a neolithic burial mound, in the hills just north of Bathgate, the highest point in West Lothian. The site was excavated in the 1940's and a concrete mound built over it.
You can climb down a ladder into the mound and see the 3 graves there. It is one of my earliest memories as a child, sitting in my childseat, on the back of my dad's bike, and being taken to explore.
We went on today to visit Torphichen Preceptory, just a mile or so away, (extras) it is a 16th century Knights Of St John church of which a substantial part remains. There is some fascinating information about a 3km wide area of sanctuary which has the Preceptory at its centre. A steep spiral staircase takes you up inside a tower to an exhibition area high on the first floor.
You can also visit the grave yard which has some amazing stones and the parish church which has beautiful box pews and galleries. The church is built onto the west side of the Preceptory.
All three are well worth visits and are fascinating slices of history off the beaten track in West Lothian.....and we got away from the haar in Edinburgh!