Home Report Boness

Bo’ness, or its full name Borrowstounness, is a town and former burgh on the south bank of the Firth of Forth, in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. Historically it used to come under the county of West Lothian. Bo’ness today has a population of roughly 15,000 residents.

Bo’ness traditionally was a centre of various industrial activities including coal mining, salt production, pottery, and with its ideal location on the Firth of Forth had a thriving harbor, once reported to have more ships passing through it than Edinburgh and Leith combined. With the inevitable decline of these industries Bo’ness, today is primarily a residential commuter town for the wider Falkirk area and for workers travelling into Edinburgh, Falkirk or Glasgow, with the waterfront area now transformed into an area for leisure pursuits.

Indeed, transport links to the town are good, with the A706 and A904 roads offering connections to the M9 which allows for further travel on to Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, and Glasgow. As for public transport, bus links are OK with an hourly service to Edinburgh, though Bo’ness is better served by local bus routes to other parts of the Falkirk council area where there are more regular services to Edinburgh. The town has no dedicated railway station of its own, however, with the nearest being Linlithgow a ten-minute drive to the south.

As for the town’s amenities, Bo’ness is more of a sleepy residential dormitory than a bustling town. That’s not to imply a negative aspect to the town, as many of the residents will attest this is what they like about the area. The town’s coastal location gives it fine views of the Firth of Forth as well as Culross across the water, and the Ochil Hills. But that’s not to say that’s all Bo’ness has. Other attractions and things to do, Bo’ness is home to the Hippodrome Cinema, recently refurbished, and the oldest picture house in Scotland built in 1912. There’s also Blackness Castle, an impressive stronghold on the Firth of Forth coastline to the west of the town, Kinneil House and the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, a heritage steam train railway line and museum that attracts some 60,000 visitors per year. Residents can also take advantage of attractions in nearby Falkirk such as the Falkirk Wheel, Callendar House and the Kelpies as well as the city of Edinburgh a little further still.

In terms of local schooling, Bo’ness has a single secondary school, Bo’ness Academy. There are five primary schools: Kinneil, Deanburn, Bo’ness Public School, St Mary’s, and the Grange School.