L is for...

... Loch Lomond

Loch	Dumbarton; Stirling

Its bonnie banks celebrated in song, Loch Lomond is the most accessible of the larger Scottish lochs being only twenty miles away from Glasgow. The roads are much improved in recent years making the journey round its banks a lot less likely to be taken stuck behind a slow- moving caravan or blocked by an accident. This accessibility has its price however as the once quiet waters are often disturbed by motor boats and jet-skis. Ben Lomond towers above the 24 mile long loch's eastern shore and the best view is gained from its summit, a relatively easy climb. The loch also has some inhabited islands. Beside the old road on the western side is a small plinth rising out of the water with a statue of a small boy. A local myth suggests this commemorates the drowning of a child but in fact it was erected by William Kerr in memory of his childhood spent in the area.

... Livingston

Settlement

West Lothian

15

Pop: 41647

A merchant from Flanders by the name of Leving purchased land by the river Almond in 1120. Over the centuries the place became known as Leving's Town and later Livingston. In 1962 it was designated as a new town and it has since rapidly risen to become Lothian's second biggest settlement after Edinburgh. Livingston has attracted a wide spectrum of industries to the area, and with a well-designed development plan has provided both housing and recreational facilities for its citizens. As well as many sport complexes the town has Howden House, once owned by painter Sir Henry Raeburn, as a community centre and Livingston Mill Farm, a restored working farm and animal park.