Livingston lights?

T

ThomasH

Senior Member.
Any idea what this could be? Flares? Fireworks?

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/mind-boggling-ufos-spotted-over-36228367
External Quote:
Andrew Ellis, from Livingston, was returning home from work when he spotted a set of lights over the Raeburn Rigg Estate.
He spotted the triangular set of lights in low cloud cover on Friday night, November 7 at around 8.30pm.
Andrew said: "After arriving at Livingston North train station from Bathgate I took my usual walk home to Knightsridge.

"I walked along a dark path parallel to the tracks and to my left was Raeburn Rigg estate.

"At the end of the path before turning right down towards the walkway bridge, I crossed to the other side before noticing a strange cloud which seemed to be slightly pulsating.

"I thought nothing of it but then I noticed what looked like a huge row of lights pulsating.



Livingston Dayligt.jpg


https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?cu...zonaws.com/17922/Livinston/20251112_044436.js
 

Attachments

  • Livingston UFO.jpg
    Livingston UFO.jpg
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External Quote:
Speaking to our sister title Edinburgh Live, Andrew said: "After arriving at Livingston North train station from Bathgate I took my usual walk home to Knightsridge.

"I walked along a dark path parallel to the tracks and to my left was Raeburn Rigg estate.

"At the end of the path before turning right down towards the walkway bridge, I crossed to the other side before noticing a strange cloud which seemed to be slightly pulsating.

Potential location somewhere around here?

1762894445803.png


https://www.google.com/maps/place/R...try=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTEwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
 
MonkeeSage said:
External Quote:
Speaking to our sister title Edinburgh Live, Andrew said: "After arriving at Livingston North train station from Bathgate I took my usual walk home to Knightsridge.

"I walked along a dark path parallel to the tracks and to my left was Raeburn Rigg estate.

"At the end of the path before turning right down towards the walkway bridge, I crossed to the other side before noticing a strange cloud which seemed to be slightly pulsating.

Potential location somewhere around here?

View attachment 85816

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Raeburn+Rigg,+Livingston,+UK/@55.9046393,-3.5423836,125a,35y,86.69h,78.96t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x4887d943ca746fef:0xbb7c22ca46665293!8m2!3d55.9043714!4d-3.5423531!16s/g/1tg7rljs?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTEwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
Click to expand...
Yeah look in the Sitrec link
 
Last edited:
MonkeeSage said:
External Quote:
Speaking to our sister title Edinburgh Live, Andrew said: "After arriving at Livingston North train station from Bathgate I took my usual walk home to Knightsridge.

"I walked along a dark path parallel to the tracks and to my left was Raeburn Rigg estate.

"At the end of the path before turning right down towards the walkway bridge, I crossed to the other side before noticing a strange cloud which seemed to be slightly pulsating.

Potential location somewhere around here?

View attachment 85816

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Raeburn+Rigg,+Livingston,+UK/@55.9046393,-3.5423836,125a,35y,86.69h,78.96t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x4887d943ca746fef:0xbb7c22ca46665293!8m2!3d55.9043714!4d-3.5423531!16s/g/1tg7rljs?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTEwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
Click to expand...
That sure looks similar...
delme.jpg
 
The picture at night is taken from much closer to the house with the satellite dish, so the angle is significantly different.

If it is a ski slope or some other geographical feature, the feature could easily be hidden behind the house on the left in the daylight picture.
livingstone.png
 
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Its not the ski slope, its in the wrong direction entirely..

I put the buildings into sitrec but its late and I gotta go sleep.. will wait till the am
 
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This appears to be something solid beyond the tree line that is slightly below the roof peak from this perspective.

1762903008583.png


The angle is different in the night time pic but possibly the same thing as it's also below the roof peak.

1762903242260.png
 
I just finished doing via Google Earth and Photoshop, something similar to Mick's work in Sitrec and concur that the photo in the article in the OP is directly towards a high point called Dechmont Law, at the West end of the subterranean water tank.

Here's my version of the visualisation.

The line of sight of the camera in the photo in the article, is between the left edge of the the building in the foreground (just above "Camera location" in the image below) and the bottom edge of the roofline of the middle distance building seen end on, in that photo (to the left of the red line of sight, line in image below).
Livingstone01.jpg


Zoomed out, that line of sight extends to Dechmont Law.
Livingstone02.jpg

Livingstone03.jpg
 
Funilly enough, Dechmont Woods, just to the North the highpoint of Dechont Law, was the location of a UFO sighting in 1979.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_incident
"In ufology, the Taylor Incident, a.k.a. Livingston Incident or Dechmont Woods Encounter is the name given to claims of sighting an extraterrestrial spacecraft on Dechmont Law in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, in 1979 by forester Robert "Bob" Taylor (1919–2007)."

Entirely unrelated, but thought it was a fun coincidence.
 
Although it might not be part of the explanation, I'm sort of surprised (TBH, not that surprised) that Edinburgh Live/ Daily Record didn't remind readers that November 7th is two days after Bonfire Night/ Guy Fawkes' Night.
It's common for fireworks, bonfires etc. to be scheduled for Friday evening/ at the weekend if Nov. 5th is during the week.

As it happens, there were fireworks scheduled quite close to the claimant's location, although not in the right direction

d3.jpg

West Lothian Council website https://westlothian.gov.uk/article/85318/Licensed-West-Lothian-Bonfire-and-Firework-Events

Map showing the Deer Park Golf and Country Club and the position of the observer (using @purpleivan's earlier post, and credit to all who found the location).
d2.jpg


The "Observation/ Photo point", as Google Maps calls it, is approximately where the star is.

Maybe some people went up there to watch the fireworks (about 800 metres away) from a nice vantage point.

Edited to add: As well as torches/ flashlights, maybe some kids had sparklers.
 
The ski area linked by jarlrmai in post #8 above:
delme.jpg

Highlighting added. The facility seems well supplied with slopes for skiing without snow!
 
Another option for lights on top of Dechmont Law could have been people trail running, as there is a route over it used for that, that seems to have regular events.

Here are some links with infomation about events and running clubs there.

A race run in 2025.
runabc.co.uk/dechmont-trail-race-festival-returns-for-2025

Facebook page for Dechmont Law trail races. The graphic for the even even has a flying saucer in it (due to the 1979 report I guess).
facebook.com/events/dechmont-law/dechmont-law-trail-races-2025/971869001539706/?locale=ps_AF

This provides a map of the Dechmont Law race route.
lothianrunningclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Trail-Race-Route.pdf

Nght time trail racing is done in some places in the UK, so I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that a hillside trail, that's used for organised daytime events, might have a group of runners on it at that time.

Here's a website from an event called the Illuminator Run, in Scotland, with photos of runners using LED head mounted lights, that was run just a couple of weeks earlier on 25th October.
illuminatorrun.co.uk

Throwing this out as a possibility, although I think the suggestion by Flarkey, of the lights in the video, being people up on Dechmont Law, getting a good view of the fireworks display in Livingstone, is more likely to be correct.
 
ThomasH said:
But that's in a totally different direction? Didn't anyone see my Sitrec?
Click to expand...
My error. Too bad, though, snowless skiers with head lamps would have been such a fun answer. But "fun answer" is not what we like here, "plausible answer" or, better still, "THE answer," are preferred.

Oh well, carry on, folks!
 
Here's a picture of 'Anton's Bench', the trig point in this location. It is on top of a small hill in the landscape in the right direction.

The lights could be people with torches; perhaps head torches or smartphones, or both.
anton's Bench.png
 
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