The Dechmont Woods Encounter
A forestry worker walking in the woods came upon a dome-shaped object in a clearing, and two spiked spheres rolled out towards him.
What was reported
On the morning of 9 November 1979, Robert Taylor, a forestry foreman, was checking young trees on Dechmont Law near Livingston when he said he came upon a large, dome-shaped object hovering in a clearing. Two smaller spheres covered in spikes rolled towards him and caught hold of his trousers, and he smelled a choking odour and blacked out.
He woke to find the object gone, his trousers torn and his legs grazed. Police went to the site and found marks in the ground, and they investigated, which was very unusual for a UFO report.
Explanations offered
Some doctors have suggested Taylor had a seizure, as he had been ill with meningitis years earlier. Others have suggested a mirage of the planet Venus or a hoax, though Taylor was widely seen as an honest man with no interest in publicity. The site now has a memorial plaque.
- When
- 9 November 1979
- Where
- Dechmont Law, near Livingston, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Forestry worker Robert Taylor
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.