Bathgate’s biggest
Kirkton Public Park
Park or garden
7.4 ha (18 acres)1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
10 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.7 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Bathgate · parks, paths & countryside
84% of Bathgate’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Parks and playing fields in Bathgate add up to 2.3 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. Footpaths add up to 76 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 2.7 for every square kilometre. Bathgate has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
2.3 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
76 km
2.7 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Bathgate’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Bathgate
The biggest is Kirkton Public Park, 7.4 ha (18 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Pentland Park
Park or garden
1.1 ha (3 acres)0.5 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.2 mi eastfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
James Young Simpson Memorial Garden
Park or garden
0.1 ha (0 acres)
Centralin the middle of Bathgate
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
How close Bathgate’s homes are to a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (84%)Further (16%)
Bathgate84%
West Lothian towns90%
Towns in England and Wales83%
About 3,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 42 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 529 residents.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Bathgate
76 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Bathgate and the kilometre around it, 2.7 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Bathgate; its footpaths are on the map above.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bathgate: June to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 7.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.6 | 17.0 | 15.1 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 7.0 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 104 | 93 | 88 | 62 | 64 | 77 | 81 | 91 | 78 | 116 | 103 | 107 |
April is the driest month (62 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 18 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 116 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 67 nights a year. The climate in Bathgate →
Things to do
3 viewpoints, 42 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Bathgate is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Drum Sands12 mi from Bathgate’s edge
DirectionsRoyston Beach15 mi from Bathgate’s edge
DirectionsBlack Sands16 mi from Bathgate’s edge
DirectionsWardie Bay Beach16 mi from Bathgate’s edge
DirectionsSilver Sands16 mi from Bathgate’s edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. SEPA tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
The Knock0.9 mi from town
DirectionsCairnpapple Hill1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 5
Round Hillin town
DirectionsWhite Law246 m (807 ft) · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsSeafield Law198 m (650 ft) · 0.6 mi from town
DirectionsRaven Craig290 m (951 ft) · 0.7 mi from town
DirectionsBallencrieff Hill312 m (1,024 ft) · 0.8 mi from town
DirectionsNature reserves 3
Little Bogheadin town
DirectionsPetershill4.9 ha · 0.0 mi from town
DirectionsTailend Moss57 ha · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 42
The Yin Swing Play Area0.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 41 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
BlackburnArmadaleWhitburnWest CalderPolbethLivingstonBathgate
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bathgate | – | 2.3 | 84% | 0% |
| Blackburn 1.7 mi | – | 1.1 | 97% | 0% |
| Armadale 2.4 mi | – | 2.1 | 92% | 0% |
| Whitburn 3.2 mi | – | 5.2 | 92% | 0% |
| West Calder 4.1 mi | – | 2.1 | 85% | 0% |
| Polbeth 4.2 mi | – | 4.7 | 86% | 0% |
| Livingston 4.4 mi | – | 4.6 | 95% | 0% |
Whitburn, Polbeth and Livingston have at least twice Bathgate’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Bathgate
What is the biggest park in Bathgate?
Kirkton Public Park, 7.4 ha (18 acres), with 1.2 km of path. Pentland Park (1.1 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Bathgate near a National Park?
No National Park or National Scenic Area is within 30 km (about 19 miles) of Bathgate.
What is the nearest beach to Bathgate?
Drum Sands, 12 mi from the edge of the town, then Royston Beach (15 mi). Bathgate itself is inland.
How many people in Bathgate live near a park?
84% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Bathgate?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Bathgate’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Bathgate’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.