Cockleroy Hill is the site of a heavily eroded Bronze Age fort known locally known as "Wallace's Bed" or "Wallace's Cradle", associated in local lore with the C13th Scottish military hero, who allegedly used it to reconnoitre Edward I's encampment at Burgh Muir near Linlithgow prior to the Battle of Falkirk. An alternative story places Wallace at Drumshoreland Muir near the eighteenth century Wallace Stone, a few miles to the east.
Cockleroy Hill, from the North Side
The hill itself is in an area of West Lothian rich in ancient and medieval sites. Indeed, as the first hill to the South-west of Linlithgow, it affords excellent views of the town, loch and palace.
Linlithgow from Cockleroy
The visitor will also find spectacular long-range views across Lothian to the East, North across the River Forth into Fife, and West into Strathclyde.
Sunset Over Strathclyde from Cockleroy
To the South, Cockleroy affords views of Cairnpapple, with Lochcote Reservoir and the small ruins of Kipps Castle in the foreground (not pictured).
Cairnpapple from Cockleroy
The following is a section of the 1856 OS map, showing the hill under the name of "Cocklerue", with Wallace's Bed, and an outcrop of natural rocks on the North side of the hill known as the Fairy Leap:
"Cocklerue" from the 1856 OS Map
Click here for a location map provided by StreetMap.
Very little is now visible of the remains of the Bronze Age fort on Cockleroy, other than the Northern and Eastern perimeter walls. The walls to the South and West have either eroded heavily or apparently slipped naturally down the side of the hill. The following photograph is the view Northwards, across the centre of what was once the hillfort.
The Inside of the Fort
Beginning at the Western end of the remaining wall, we look up the hill, to one of its minor Northerly summits.
The Western End of the Fort
Climbing up and East to this minor summit, we can see the line of the perimeter wall more clearly, arcing towards the South-east.
The North-east Side of the Perimeter Wall
Continuing along what is now left of the North-east wall, we can again see its arc by turning Northwards.
The North-east Side of the Wall, Looking North
On the Northern side of the hillfort is the remains of a terrace, which presumably used to encircle the majority of the fort itself, but has now fallen away on the Southern sides.
Terrace, North Side
Cockleroy hillfort clearly occupied a crucial strategic position within the system of forts encircling Cairnpapple in the Bathgate Hills, which mark the natural Westerly point of ancient and modern Lothian. With its close proximity to the ancient sacred site of Cairnpapple, its panoramic views towards Strathclyde in the West and across the Forth towards Pictish Fife in the North, it was surely a far more significant place than it looks today!