The Lothians

The Lothians lie between the Firth of Forth, which separates them from Fife to the north, and the Pentland, Moorfoot and Lammermuir Hills, which mark the boundary with the Scottish Borders to the south.

The Lothian kingdom, which included the area covered by the Scottish Borders, was named after the Brythonic king Loth or Lot and during the 7^th century was part of Northumbria. Following the Battle of Carham in 1018, the Lothians became part of the Scottish kingdom and the River Tweed was established as the permanent border between Scotland and England.

With Edinburgh at the heart of the area, the Lothians is made up of the city along with the three counties of East, Mid- and West Lothian.

East Lothian, which was formerly known as Haddingtonshire, stretches east from Edinburgh.

Midlothian, which was formerly known as Edinburghshire, lies to the south-east of the city that was formerly included within its boundaries. As Edinburgh expanded, Midlothian shrunk and now lies mostly outside of the A720 City Bypass.

West Lothian, which was formerly known as Linlithgowshire, sits to the west of Edinburgh.

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