Leadhills, originally settled for the accommodation of miners, is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5 ³⁄₄ miles (9.3 km) WSW of Elvanfoot. The population in 1901 was 835. It was originally known as Waterhead.

Leadhills is the highest village in Scotland at an average height of 1,460 feet (450 m) above sea-level. All local road signage will tell you that the neighbouring village of Wanlockhead is the highest village in Scotland. However, the Ordnance Survey are currently re-measuring the height of the village and neighbouring Wanlockhead as the method used to place Wanlockhead higher than Leadhills is no longer used and Wanlockhead is the lower of the two villages by some 20 meters or more.

Leadhills experiences a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc). Due to its elevation and inland position, winters are colder and summers cooler than lower lying areas. In terms of the local climate profile, given its elevated position and latitude, Leadhills is amongst the coldest places in the British Isles. In fact, according to the most recent 30-year climate period of 1981-2010 Leadhills is the coldest village in the UK (of those with weather stations) with an annual mean temperature of 6.76 °C (44.17 °F) making it slightly colder than the commonly regarded coldest settlement of Braemar, which had an annual average temperature of 6.81 °C (44.26 °F) in this period. However, Leadhills' slightly more exposed and elevated location than Braemar results in absolute minima being higher than one might expect - the December absolute minimum of −15.0 °C (5.0 °F) compares favourably to usually milder Glasgow Airport's absolute minimum of −20.0 °C (−4.0 °F). Winter snowfalls can be heavy, with falls often exceeding 30 cm, and due to the exposed location can be whipped into deep drifts often closing the main road through the village for a while.

The Cache:

This is a new webcam and the only one in the village (There are two higher webcams near the radar station but these are off grid and not reliable). To claim a find you simply have to attach a photograph with your log showing you stood on the hatched area outside the Fire Station (See image). However, here is the twist:

There is little to no mobile phone signal in Leadhills (patchy 2G via EE only), and so there is no internet connection. So to obtain your photograph you will need a friend to be at a computer at an agreed time. The friend can then capture your image for you.

The webpage image does not refresh automatically and so your friend needs to refresh every 5 to 6 minutes. So you may have to stand around for a while hoping that your friend has captured you!

The website to get the image from is http://www.winterhighland.info/cams/lowtherhill/

Please be aware this is a working fire station. Please do not obstruct the doors in any way and park your vehicle away from the building.