Home Report Broxburn

The West Lothian town of Broxburn, home to roughly 12,000 residents, is located about 12 miles west of Edinburgh city centre. Broxburn is often named in reference also to Uphall, the nearby town – literally on the doorstep – it shares a main street with. Indeed, it’s hard to really see where Broxburn ends and Uphall begins! The towns share a main street, which is divided into an “east main street” and “west main street” for both towns, a little quirk that finds those unfamiliar (and even those that are) heading to the wrong place on occasion. Regardless, it’s certainly a main street of one form or another with the usual local newsagents, pubs, and other businesses dotted throughout.

Modern Broxburn as it is today began at the onset of the shale oil industry around the latter half of the 1800s. Prior to this the main industry of the area was agriculture which supported the small rural community. As the shale oil industry grew it rapidly attracted more people to the town, so much so that a single company among many – the Broxburn Shale Oil Company – alone employed over 2000 people from the local area. Many companies were active in the town at this time leading to the name “Shaleopolis”. The industry began to decline in the early 1900s in the face of competition from directly extracted crude oil and finally came to an end in the 1950s.

Broxburn is still known today for its association with the oil industry, pioneered by the inventor and industrialist James Young. Many shale spoil tips, known as bings, are still evident around the town. They’ve become something of an attraction and the well-known 3 Broxburn Bings are now seen as a local landmark. The largest of the three Bings is the Greendykes Bing which when scaled provides excellent views of the whole area. The Bings were created by large piles of spoil from the shale mines being dumped on top of each over to form the Bings.

In terms of industry today Broxburn now has two separate industrial areas, the Greendykes Industrial Estate and the East Mains Industrial Estate, which provide employment for local people. The largest employers are Campbells Prime Meat Limited and Broxburn Bottlers Limited (part of Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd). Broxburn also serves as a commuter town for workers travelling further on to Livingston and Edinburgh city centre.

Indeed, the town is very well served by transport links. Broxburn has regular links to Edinburgh, Livingston, Linlithgow and Edinburgh Airport. The nearest railway station is at Uphall Station – about a mile south of Uphall proper – providing regular trains to Edinburgh, Livingston, Bathgate, Airdrie and Glasgow.

In terms of local amenities, the aforementioned Bings offer excellent walking and hiking opportunities for fantastic views across the Lothians. The well-known Union Canal also passes through Broxburn. A historically used industrial transport link, it has been gradually restored over the last two decades and is now used for fishing and some leisure boating. It has a towpath previously used by horses which drew canal barges and that is now a footpath for walkers and cyclists.

Other amenities include the nearby 227-acre Almondell and Calderwood Country Park. Families especially will enjoy the pleasant picnic and play areas. Broxburn also has a local leisure centre with the usual amenities. In terms of golf, there is a driving range and the nearby Uphall Golf Club boasts a full 18-hole course in beautiful countryside.

As for local education, Broxburn has three primary schools, Broxburn Primary, Kirkhill Primary, St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Primary and the secondary school Broxburn Academy.