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Howden Long Route

Route: Football Stadium - Civic Centre - Skate Park - follow river to concrete bridge - into Howden - around Howden Park - back to Civic Centre.

Route length: 3.2km

Estimated duration: 55 mins

On-route facilities: Toilets at Civic Centre, toilets and Café at Howden Park Centre.

Points of Interest/History/Heritage

  1. Livingston Football Stadium - built in 1995 to house Meadowbank Thistle FC (previously Ferranti Thistle) from Edinburgh, who were encouraged out to the New Town of Livingston by LDC (Livingston Development Corporation).
  2. West Lothian Civic Centre - opened in 2009 and thought to represent the broadest public sector partnership in Britain. The building is shared by the headquarters of West Lothian Council, a divisional headquarters for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts Service, Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and the West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership.
  3. Civic Centre Meadows - the grass in front of the Civic Centre, nearest the river, is managed as a species-rich grassland. In summer, look out for white clover, yellow bird's foot trefoil and pink common spotted-orchids.
  4. Bridge of Remembrance - was renamed in 2015 to mark the anniversary of the end of WW1. It goes from Livingston Centre to the war memorial and is likely to have been built around the same time as houses in the local area.
  5. River Almond - when crossing the bridge, there is a good view both upstream and downstream along the river. If you watch carefully, you may see Kingfishers feeding as they fly along the river and dive in and out of the water.
  6. Livingston Skate Park - Scotland's first purpose-built skate park, built in 1981 by LDC. It has become an important part of the area, and has also achieved international status.
  7. Area just east of the Skate Park - originally designed as a 'trim course', this area was covered with tracks for running. The large wooden cross in the area, still there today, was sometimes used as a place for ceremonies and celebration events.
  8. 'Old Men of Hoy' art installation - cast concrete, created in 1976. The Old Men stand at the confluence of the Dedridge Burn and the River Almond. The ground in this area is very wet and supports trees that thrive in wet conditions, such as willow and alder.
  9. When crossing the concrete bridge, you can see the Almond Valley Bridge that carries the dual carriageway. Built in 1972, it helped to join different areas of the 'New Town'. The old stone bridge in front of it was the original way into the area.
  10. 'Concrete Jungle' mural underneath concrete bridge - part of the 2017 Almondvale Park restoration (see Almondvale_Park_Public_Art_Map.pdf (westlothian.gov.uk) for more information on Almondvale park artworks).
  11. View of the Centre - the original part (Almondvale) was started in 1976 by LDC to create a 'town centre' for the New Town. Extended over the years, it opened as 'The Centre' in 2008.
  12. 'Metamorphosis' underpass mural - from the 2017 Almondvale Park restoration.
  13. Howden - part of New Town development - built in the early 70's by LDC. All areas of the New Town have distinct naming systems with a theme, and are in alphabetical order. Areas within Howden are all named after places in Canada e.g. Toronto Avenue, Huron Avenue. (See notes at end of document for full naming systems).
  14. Howden House - built in the 1770's, it was at one time lived in by the daughter of James 'paraffin' Young. James Young discovered how to get oil out of shale rock and changed the face of the West Lothian area through shale mining. Bought in 1963 by the LDC, the house was going to be used as a headquarters but wasn't big enough. It was used for meetings and as Livingston's first Community Centre, before being abandoned and later developed into flats in 2013.
  15. Howden Walled Garden - originally a kitchen garden for Howden House, and then a rose garden, the Walled Garden behind Howden House is now used as a community garden for growing food and supporting wildlife. It provides a relaxing space for contemplation.
  16. Howden Park Centre - originally the stables for the house. In 1970, Livingston Art Association (LAA) formed and wanted a studio - the stables were turned into studios for the LAA, and LDC developed the back of the stables building into the Muse Theatre - you can see where the old stone of the stables and the newer red brickwork meet on the West wall of the building. Now Howden Park Centre, the building is still used for exhibitions, art and craft fairs, and the redesigned theatre hosts all sorts of concerts and shows.
  17. View of St. John's Hospital - commissioned to replace Bangour General Hospital in Dechmont, LDC wanted to move the general hospital to Livingston from around 1974. It was officially opened by the Queen in 1989, serving Livingston and the wider West Lothian area.
  18. Howden parkland - once part of the Howden House estate, nowadays the Park in front of Howden House serves as a large, public green space, and is important for people and wildlife.

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