Beta Help us improve: share your feedback on our new website.

Important notice

The phone line is currently down, For any enquiries, please phone Linlithgow Palace on 01506 842 896

View gallery

Explore a rare ceremonial complex in the Bathgate Hills. The broad summit of Cairnpapple Hill was a significant site for ceremonies and burials for at least 4,000 years.

Cairnpapple’s henge dates from about 3800 BC. Centuries later the landscape was chosen for a number of Bronze Age burials. Much later still, it was used for early Christian graves.

Admire this great example of a henge monument – a rare class of Neolithic ceremonial monument – and enjoy the short, gentle walk to the summit of Cairnpapple Hill.

Take in stunning views across the Forth Valley and beyond – you may even be able to see Goat Fell, Arran’s highest peak.

You can also enjoy our fun fact-finding quiz while exploring this henge monument. 

An area of ground covered in stones with holes shaped out of them, and a stairway up a grassy mound in the background
Rocks in a grassy hilltop area with further hills in the distance

Ready for an adventure?

Use a Membership or Explorer Pass to discover centuries of Scottish history and heritage, all while saving money and supporting our work.

Membership

Ideal for regular visitors and heritage supporters

Unlimited annual pass for all ticketed sites plus daytime events

Two adults, holding hands with two young children, walk through a graveyard, with historical stone ruins in the background. It is a sunny day.
  • Unlimited annual pass for all ticketed sites plus daytime events
  • Discount in our shops and cafés (on site and online)
  • Historic Scotland magazine delivered to your door
  • Free or discounted entry to sites in England, Wales and the Isle of Man

Explorer Pass

Perfect for short-term trips and sightseeing

Valid for 14 consecutive days

A family walking across a grassy lawn with the New Abbey Corn Mill building in the background.
  • Valid for 14 consecutive days
  • Entry to all ticketed sites, including Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle
  • 20% discount on audio guides at Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Glasgow Cathedral
  • Guaranteed entry when you pre-book online