Wishing our followers a Happy Burns Night 2023! Robert Burns famously visited Bo'ness together with his friend William Nicol on Saturday 25th August 1787 and gave an unflattering description which shall not be repeated…! He wrote that they saw a horse race - perhaps a reader somewhere may know more about the story of horse-racing… Continue reading Robert Burns and the Bo’ness horse races
Category: Bo’ness Foreshore
How potteries were once a smash hit in Bo’ness
From posh plates to wally dugs, the potteries of Bo’ness made it all. At different sites, over nearly 200 years, eye-catching collectables were manufactured. Today, the potteries are long gone – but you can still pick up fragments of pots on the beach at Bridgeness (just beside Anderson’s woodyard). And for those looking for more… Continue reading How potteries were once a smash hit in Bo’ness
Just off the Kinneil foreshore – once home to a large distillery
Today it’s occupied by flats, a field and some foliage. But 100 years ago, this site at Corbiehall in Bo’ness was a hive of activity – and home to Bo’ness Distillery. The Distillery occupied ground just below the Old Kirk in Bo'ness. The distillery was founded in the early 1800s by Messrs Tod, Padon and… Continue reading Just off the Kinneil foreshore – once home to a large distillery
Kinneil’s feathered appeal is no flight of fancy
“Kinneil Nature Reserve is an amazing place to visit.” -David Anderson, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Scotland The Kinneil foreshore welcomes thousands of walkers and cyclists each year. But the area is also an important destination for visitors of the feathered variety. David Anderson, from the Royal Society for the Protection of… Continue reading Kinneil’s feathered appeal is no flight of fancy
Carriden’s Roman roots
“Carriden is the site of the eastern terminal fort of the Antonine Wall, although there is, as yet, no evidence to demonstrate that it was physically part of the frontier.” - Historic Environment Scotland Did you know the Carriden area of Bo’ness was once called Velunia? The name was given to the local Roman fort,… Continue reading Carriden’s Roman roots
End of an era: the closure of Bo’ness Dock
It was the end of an era. On Tuesday, June 30, 1959, Bo’ness Dock was closed to commercial trade. A large crowd turned out to see the final vessel – a Dutch ship – sail out of the dock the next evening. The closure brought to an end a two-year fight between local people and… Continue reading End of an era: the closure of Bo’ness Dock
Going full steam ahead to Bo’ness
Seaview Place car park in Bo’ness was once home to the town’s original railway station. Work started on creating a branch line – an extension of the Slamannan Railway – in the 1840s, with the first revenue-earning train running in 1851. Initially the track was used to carry goods from the busy industrial complexes around… Continue reading Going full steam ahead to Bo’ness
When witches were burned at the stake
December 23, 1679: five women and one man were burned at the stake at the glebe of Corbiehall (near the current Corbie Inn pub) in Bo'ness. The six had been found guilty of the “abominable cryme of witchcraft”. The court ordered that they were to be “wirried at a steak till they be dead …… Continue reading When witches were burned at the stake
Bo’ness and the search for ‘white gold’
“During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, both shores of the Firth of Forth were studded with salt pans, and a big export trade was developed.” -Historian TJ Salmon It was once called “white gold”. Sea salt was harvested in Scotland for hundreds of years – with the first salt pans being developed in the 12th… Continue reading Bo’ness and the search for ‘white gold’
A harbour for coal – and eggs!
A pier at Bridgeness first appeared on a map of 1775. Its small harbour, shown in the picture here, was used by vessels employed in the coal trade. It also welcomed boats carrying eggs from the Orkney Islands. Later Bridgeness and (further east along the shoreline) Carriden became a centre for shipbreaking. Nearby was a… Continue reading A harbour for coal – and eggs!
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