Linlithgow
Lake by the Moist Hollow

King David I founded the burgh of Linlithgow some time during the 12th century; the town takes it's name from the loch beside Linlithgow Palace. At this time a royal manor house probably existed on the site where palace now stands. November 1301 is the earliest reference made to Linlithgow, when the King's Chamber, in the manor house, was prepared for Edward I of England.

The town is situated roughly halfway between Edinburgh and Stirling and 6 km from Blackness harbour, which served Linlithgow as a sea port from as early as 1200. This made Linlithgow an ideal site for a military base and was used as such by Edward I in 1302.

A fire destroyed most of the town in 1424, including the manor house, after which James I started building the present palace. Next to this is St. Michael's Parish Church, which is one of Scotland's largest pre-Reformation churches. The park around the palace and alongside the loch is known as the Peel, which is administered as one of the Royal Parks and, like Holyrood Park, has it's own police force.

To the south of the palace and church is the heart of the town; the Cross Well stands in front of the Burgh Halls on the High Street. A well has stood on this site since the sixteenth century, but the current structure was built in 1807. This is a replica of the well from 1628 which was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's army, but rebuilt in 1660. Carvings from that well were found in 1997 and are now on display in the Linlithgow Story museum, situated in Annet  House, about 250m west of the Cross.

The town has managed to keep it's original appearance despite 1960s developments which replaced houses from the 1800s and earlier.

The Union Canal passes through the south side of the town. The Canal Centre, at the Manse Road canal basin, runs short trips during the summer and longer weekend trips to the Avon Aqueduct.

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