West Linton
West Linton is a town and civil parish in southerly Scotland, on the A702. It was previously in the area of Peeblesshire, however considering that city government re-organisation in the mid-1990s it is currently part of Scottish Borders. Most of its residents are commuters, owing to the town's closeness to Edinburgh, which is 16 miles (26 kilometres) to the north east. West Linton has a long background, and also holds an annual traditional celebration called the Whipman Play. The town of Linton is of old beginning. Its name originates from a Celtic element (cognate with the modern Irish Gaelic linn, Scottish Gaelic linne, and modern-day 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, meaning black pool) as well as the Gaelic "dun" Welsh "din"), for a fortress, fortified area, or army camp (pertaining to the modern-day English town, by way of the Saxon "tun", a ranch or collection of residences), as well as is evidently ideal, as the village appears to have been surrounded by lakes, pools and marshes. At one time it was referred to as Lyntoun Roderyck, determined perhaps with Roderyck or Riderch, King of Strathclyde, whose region included this area, or with a regional chieftain of that name. The Scottish Gaelic variation of the place name is a partial translation, Ruairidh being a Gaelic form of Roderick. The prefix "West" was acquired numerous centuries later to make clear the difference from East Linton in East Lothian.