West Linton is a town and civil parish in southern Scotland, on the A702. It was previously in the region of Peeblesshire, however because local government re-organisation in the mid-1990s it is currently part of Scottish Borders. A number of its residents are commuters, owing to the town's distance to Edinburgh, which is 16 miles (26 kilometres) to the north east. West Linton has a long history, and also holds an annual standard celebration called the Whipman Play. The village of Linton is of ancient beginning. Its name stems from a Celtic aspect (cognate with the modern-day Irish Gaelic linn, Scottish Gaelic linne, as well as modern Welsh "Llyn") suggesting a lake or pool, a pool in a river, or a network (as in Loch Linnhe, part of which is called An Linne Dhubh, the black swimming pool, or Dublin, an Anglicisation of dubh as well as linn, indicating black pool) as well as the Gaelic "dun" Welsh "din"), for a citadel, strengthened area, or military camp (related to the modern-day English community, using the Saxon "tun", a farm or collection of homes), as well as is seemingly suitable, as the village shows up to have actually been bordered by lakes, swimming pools and marshes. At one time it was called Lyntoun Roderyck, determined possibly with Roderyck or Riderch, King of Strathclyde, whose territory included this location, or with a regional chieftain of that name. The Scottish Gaelic variation of the place name is a partial translation, Ruairidh being a Gaelic type of Roderick. The prefix "West" was gotten many centuries later on to clear up the distinction from East Linton in East Lothian.