Kirkliston is a small village on the Western outskirts of
Edinburgh which has often been referred to as
'Cheesetown'.
There are two principle theories for this. One suggestion is
that it is due to an inscription mentioning cheese, carved by
Rabbie Burns in a window of Castle House (the second oldest
building, formerly an Inn). The most widely used explanation
however is that when the Forth Bridge was being built, the workers
who lodged in Kirkliston often had cheese sandwiches for lunch!
A church stood on a knoll overlooking the River Almond here in
the 1100s, part of an estate held by the Knights Templar. At the
time the settlement around it was known as Temple Liston. Much of
the Templar church survives as Kirkliston Parish Church, just as
much of the original name of the settlement survives in the later
Kirkliston. It was also the location of the first meeting of the
Estates of Scotland, the former parliament of Scotland!
It's not obvious to a modern traveller, but Kirkliston grew up
around what for a thousand years was one of the most important
roads in Scotland. The main route from Edinburgh to Linlithgow,
Falkirk and Stirling was often travelled by Scottish Royalty: and
by a succession of invading English armies.
Kirkliston remained on the main A9 until the early 1970s. Then
the M9 motorway was opened to service the through traffic along the
south side of the River Forth. And at about the same time a new
runway was built at Edinburgh Airport which severed the old route
of the A9 south east of Kirkliston. Separated from the suburbs by
Green Belt but still very convenient for Edinburgh, Kirkliston
started a new life as a popular dormitory village for the
capital.
Kirkliston's real period of growth began in the 1600s when linen
weaving got under way. From the end of the 1700s alcohol started to
feature large in the village's economic life. In 1795 the Lambsmiln
Distillery started operations here before later changing its name
to the more memorable Kirkliston Distillery. By the 1880s and after
a series of different owners, Kirkliston Distillery was producing
some 700,000 gallons of grain and malt whisky each year. The
distillery ceased whisky production in the 1900s, but was later
taken over by Scotmalt to produce malt extract for the food
industry and for home brew beer kits. This mill has now been
demolished. As of March 2007, only the two oldest buildings on this
site remain standing.
In 1969 a new manufacturing plant for Drambuie opened in
Kirkliston. This is a whisky liqueur including honey and other
ingredients whose secret recipe was given by Bonnie Prince Charlie
to a member of the MacKinnon family who had helped him after the
Battle of Culloden. This re-located several years ago (ca. 2001).
The plant was recently demolished and the former site is now being
redeveloped for housing. The main street being named "The Dram" in
tribute to the former site.
An interesting curiosity in the village is the presence of a
Gravestone dated 1727 that includes two carved heads wearing
glasses. If the date on this headstone is accurate then this is the
world's oldest depiction of glasses with sides. The gravestone can
be found within the graveyard at the Parish Church.
(The text above was based on an article on UndiscoveredScotland.com
and kindly reproduced with their permission)
This is a multi-cache, therefore you will need to visit the
three locations below and find out the information to create the
final co-ordinates. The cache is located a short walk (or drive)
outside the village, well away from muggles. If you'd like to walk
round the 3 reference points, there's usually plenty parking across
the road from Castle House (Stage 1).
Stage 1
Castle House (N55 57.243 W003 24.122) is the oldest building
in the village, formerly an Inn but now a residential property.
Above the door is the year, 16_ _ . The last two digits will be
E and F.
Stage 2
Walk (or drive) up the hill and locate the Newliston Arms (N55
57.366 W003 24.135)which sits on the crossroads. There is an
information board outside with a brief history of the ownership of
Kirkliston in the 19th century. The Newliston Arms was established
in 18 _ _ . The last two digits will be C and D.
Stage 3
Cross the crossroads and continue to head uphill. On the left hand
side you will find the former school house (now the nursery school
and community centre) (N55 57.473 W003 24.191). The clock on
this building was erected in memory of Alexander Glendinning in 19_
_. The last two digits will be A and B.
Cache
Using the information from the clues, calculate the final
numbers then place them into the co-ordinates below. This is the
actual location of the cache.
V = D-B
W = C+F
X = D-F
Y = B+F
Z = A+E
N55 57.3VW W003
2X.Y3Z