The Ratho Poet
A time of political movement; big questions and strong feelings over Scotland and England's relationship; plus ça change. But a character...
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Explore!
Explore! Our articles cover anything and everything to do with West Lothian, West Edinburgh and Falkirk.
A selection of what goes into print is published here.
Browse the archives below or use the archive menu to sort by category, or use the search bar to find a specific reference.
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Editor
- Aug 1, 2018
- 4 min
James Gillespie, the snuff maker of Colinton
A few Edinburgh streets (Gillespie Crescent, Place, Road and Street) and ‘James Gillespie’s High School’ bear the name of a well-off and...
Editor
- Jul 1, 2018
- 5 min
Gibson-Craig, Riccarton and Abolition: “old letter found in a box”
In 2015 the UK government finally finished paying off the massive borrowing it undertook in 1833 in order to compensate slave-owners when...
Editor
- Feb 5, 2018
- 5 min
Marvellous Merchiston
If your home was garrisoned by soldiers and under threat of bombardment, you might pick somewhere else to get married. But 22 year old...
Editor
- Feb 1, 2018
- 3 min
Dougal Haston: From Currie to Everest
Up, always up. Currie lad Dougal Haston went from rambling around the Pentland Hills to being one of the first British climbers to...
Editor
- Nov 7, 2017
- 3 min
Edwin Lucas - Scottish Surrealist
The young man from Juniper Green who painted a mural in the scouts' “den” on Belmont Road in the early 1930s - to make it look like the...
Editor
- Aug 7, 2017
- 5 min
The Balerno Loop
There is little left for the casual observer to notice today of the picturesque branch line that ran along the Water of Leith for six...
Editor
- Jun 1, 2017
- 4 min
Redhall Castle and House
Home to a diplomat involved in nation-shaping moments in Scottish history; seige and destruction by Oliver Cromwell's canons; gracious...
Editor
- Feb 1, 2017
- 4 min
King Jamie's Silver Mines
When a local collier found some unusual stones at Hilderston, near Cairnpapple in the Bathgate Hills, he couldn’t have imagined the stir...
Editor
- Jan 1, 2017
- 4 min
When Craiglockhart was "Dottyville"
How the tranquil surrounds of Craiglockhart - and a meeting at Baberton Golf Club - produced the most graphic and moving anti-war poetry...
Editor
- Aug 6, 2016
- 3 min
West Lothian Far from Ypres
Did you know that work on Beecraigs Loch was started by German prisoners-of-war during the First World War, but due to their...
Editor
- Mar 7, 2016
- 4 min
Huly Hill and the Newbridge Chariot
Have you ever sat in the traffic by the BP garage at the bottom of Cliftonhall Road in Newbridge waiting to get onto the roundabout, and...
Editor
- Feb 8, 2016
- 7 min
The Bathgate Baker's Boy who Changed the World
The face of Bathgate bairn Dr James Young Simpson is painted on the “pioneering spirit” First buses. What is not painted there is a...
Editor
- Sep 1, 2015
- 6 min
Pentland Heist
Thirty years ago, Pentland Hills Regional Park was at the centre of a police investigation when what appeared to be little more than a...
Editor
- Jul 1, 2015
- 2 min
Broxburn, the centre of the solar system
The Kirkhill estate in Broxburn was home in the 18th century to an unusual project – a model of the solar system as it was understood at...
Editor
- Apr 5, 2015
- 5 min
The White Lady of Caputhall Bog
Caputhall today is the site of the busy Deans Industrial Estate – Caputhall Road loops around the estate and there are industrial units...
Editor
- Apr 3, 2015
- 4 min
Balancing Act: The main feeder for the Union Canal
As you're enjoying a walk, cycle or boat trip along the Union Canal, you may not be aware that its serene surface level is maintained...
Editor
- Nov 6, 2014
- 6 min
Letters Home - from a young Scots Guard
A nineteen year old lad writes home to his mother from the trenches in World War 1 France: “I have seen all the life I want to see.” A...
Editor
- May 1, 2014
- 3 min
John Newland Festival - What's it all about?
John Newland was one of the many Scots who sailed to the West Indies in the 18th century to make their fortunes out of sugar and slave
Editor
- Mar 3, 2014
- 4 min
Let's go fly a camera kite
Kite flying has timeless appeal ...but how many people realise that flying a kite can be used to discover what lies underground?...
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