The Courtyard Cafe - West Lothian

This park is a wonderful spot for families with children, dog walkers, or those looking to play a round of golf. It's free to enter and has two separate parking lots. The playing areas for kids are exceptional, with picnic benches scattered throughout the park. There is a small river running through, as well as large open grassy areas and wooded trails with wheelchair-friendly gravel paths. Public toilets are available, and there is a cafe on-site (though details are unknown). The park could use more bins, but the highlight is the owl centre, which is both educational and reasonably priced - definitely worth a visit.

The park offers a pleasant experience for leisurely walks and is welcoming to dogs. The play area is well-maintained and popular with families, with children appearing to enjoy themselves. However, the café and courtyard depicted on the website seem outdated, as they were closed in August and the courtyard appeared abandoned. As a result, I visited the Tea room for coffee and cake, only to find that they had no cakes available, though biscuits were offered. The gift shop was also lacking in variety. Overall, the atmosphere felt outdated and unwelcoming, reminiscent of the 1950s. The public toilets were in poor condition, making me feel embarrassed at the thought of visitors having to use them. The entire building, courtyard, and plant containers are in need of renovation and maintenance, including painting and restocking of plant containers. It is clear that the council needs to make improvements and investments in order to improve the overall experience for visitors.

The restaurant has a fantastic free play area for children aged 2-14 years. It is a spacious, safe, and enclosed space where kids can run around and have fun. We spent 2 hours just at the play area with our 4 kids and they absolutely loved it!

Such a beautiful place to walk and so much to explore. Great big park for the kids to burn off some energy. Shame the wee café closes at 3pm though but staff were friendly and food was nice.

A lovely walk for adults and kids of all ages. A wide variety of wildlife, plants and trees to look out for. A big play park with a real train to play on and the Scottish owl Centre is also worth a visit. A 9 hole golf course and driving range is also available to try and a bowling green. To help spend the day here you can also use the bbq area or the cafe and toilets. Only 2 minutes off M8 at The Heartlands junction.