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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Peter McLagan, MP Linlithgowshire: Scotland’s first non-white MP, and “suffragetist in trousers”

Editor

Oct 7, 2020
4 min

Peter McLagan, MP Linlithgowshire: Scotland’s first non-white MP, and “suffragetist in trousers”

Peter McLagan MP, was an extraordinary local character, and the longest-serving MP (next to Tam Dalyell) that this area had in 300 years. Peter McLagan was born in 1823 in Demarara, the then-colony of British Guyana in South America. His father - also known as Peter - jointly owned a plantation there. Of his mother we know nothing, only that his father had a 'relationship' from which he and an elder brother, John, were born. As a result of a decision by the British Parliame

Editor

Feb 7, 2020
6 min

How Dynamite came to Scotland

The Nobel Prizes are announced annually; world-famous coveted prizes for those who confer “the greatest benefit on mankind” in sciences, literature, economics and peace. They are named after Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist who, horrified that his armaments and explosives empire would earn him the epitaph “Merchant of Death,” left his fortune for the furtherance of world peace and progress. But what does this Swedish and indeed global story have to do with this area? Alfred

What is a Tool Library? (or, a Thing Library?)

Editor

Oct 10, 2019
3 min

What is a Tool Library? (or, a Thing Library?)

What do you think of when you hear “Tool Library”? I had assumed it was a place you could hire garden or DIY tools, until I visited the Transition Linlithgow Tool Library and discovered it is a whole lot more than that! It would be more accurately described as a “Thing Library.” You can borrow pretty much anything, from kitchen appliances to power tools. “The concept of the tool library is to help people reduce unnecessary consumption as well as save money,” explains Neil H

Editor

Jul 11, 2019
3 min

eeek! Escape Room

“We’re puzzle geeks,” explains Ellie, co-owner of Linlithgow’s new escape room, eeek! Along with her husband Euan (and with a willing father-in-law roped in for practical help!) they have created a unique escape room experience with a special Linlithgow twist. For those not familiar with the concept of an escape room, they have popped up all over Britain in the past few years. It’s a fun family, team or group activity where you’re immersed in a room and as a team you have to

"It's what you can do that counts" - West Lothian Riding for the Diabled

Editor

Apr 16, 2019
3 min

"It's what you can do that counts" - West Lothian Riding for the Diabled

“It’s more accurate to describe what we do as providing therapeutic riding opportunities,” says Carol Lamb of West Lothian Riding for the Disabled. “Our participants get huge emotional benefits from the riding sessions here, they come from a wide range of abilities and backgrounds, and some come regularly for many years.” I’m meeting with two dedicated volunteers from Linlithgow, Carol and Sarah, on a drizzly morning last month at the West Lothian Riding for the Disabled prem

World-class chocolatier, local person: Sebastian Kobelt

Editor

Nov 8, 2018
2 min

World-class chocolatier, local person: Sebastian Kobelt

“It’s a long story - longer than we have time for - for how I ended up in Scotland,” says Scotland’s Chocolatier of the year 2018. I’m visiting Winchburgh resident Sebastian Kobelt, pâtissier and chocolatier, at his shop on Linlithgow High Street. It is a treasure trove of beautifully presented and innovative artisan chocolate and fine patisserie. I’m tempted to get some special Christmas shopping done on the spot. “This is where my creativity happens, and where I can display

Editor

Aug 6, 2018
2 min

Nae running!

Over 50 and missing the hybrid scent of liniment and sweat? Then get yourself and your leather-studded boots down to Linlithgow Rugby indoor arena on a Monday at 18.15 prompt! Seven years ago, in the unlikely venue of Chesterfield, a football revolution broke out. It wasn't an uprising of the Birmingham Zulus, the Millwall Bushwhackers, the Hull City Psychos, the Falkirk Fear or any other football hooligan army. No, at the other extreme, it was a gentle version of the beauti

Editor

Jun 22, 2018
3 min

Around the Loch we go

With a couple of hours off work and the children needing to get out of the house, where can we go for a walk that the kids will enjoy, is not too far away but enough to be a trip? Answer - Linlithgow Loch. I am all for combining activities and killing two birds with the one stone, so for this outing not only can we walk, we can utilise our Historic Environment Scotland membership by taking in Linlithgow Palace too. Park in the Vennel car park off Linlithgow Cross, or if you

Editor

Apr 2, 2018
2 min

Footgolf: yes it is what it sounds like

“I’d never heard of footgolf until you called me about this article,” I say to Declan Reid when we meet in the Black Bull Inn in Mid Calder to discuss his upcoming UK footgolf tour. “Neither had I until 18 months ago!” he responds. And here he is now, representing Scotland in footgolf tournaments and raising sponsorship to get himself to the next level. Spell checker is underlining the word footgolf in red in my word processor as I write this article, so it’s not made its way

Editor

Mar 3, 2017
2 min

Diane Clayton Chrisholm

Passionate about the many benefits that cycling brings, Diane Clayton Chisholm is both a youth coach for the West Lothian Clarion Cycle Club, and the current Scottish Mountain Biking Cross Country Champion (for her age category!). Like many people, Diane’s love for cycling started as a child. “I got my first BMX as a child and it really all started there. But when I got a bit older it wasn’t quite as acceptable for a teenage girl to be riding a BMX so I bought a mountain bike

Editor

Feb 6, 2017
2 min

Magali Redding

Motivated by her daughter Gaelle, Linlithgow lady Magali Redding founded the charity Eczema Outreach Scotland (EOS) back in 2011. Here, Magali tells us how the charity supports families with eczema, how it’s grown and what she loves about Linlithgow. “My daughter Gaelle developed severe eczema as a baby. One day she asked “why am I the only scratchy girl?” Of course she wasn’t, but I realised there were no support groups in Scotland for us to meet other children living with t

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 in London his discovery would cause – and the personal embarrassment of King James VI himself. He took a sample of what he suspected to be silver ore to a well-known metallurgist and mining engineer in Leadhills, Sir Bevis Bulmer. Bulmer was very excited; the silver potential was so promising that the landowner, Sir Thomas Hamilton, went ah

A walk with features - Korean War Memorial

Editor

Apr 2, 2016
3 min

A walk with features - Korean War Memorial

Getting out the office or house and doing something that is not computer-based is something we should all consider, so when I'm out in the car I keep an eye out for somewhere different to walk. One place that has always had me intrigued as I have driven by on many occasions is the Korean War Memorial in the Bathgate hills, so on a recent drive by I decided to take the time to stop and have a proper look. Driving directions : Head out of Linlithgow on Preston Road from the wes

The Bathgate Baker's Boy who Changed the World

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 patient strapped into a chair screaming while the surgeon cut, because Simpson put an end to that with his discovery of an effective anaesthetic. The full story is extraordinary and features a Linlithgow-born chemist who was pivotal to Simpson’s success. Before anaesthetic, the quicker a surgeon (“a savage armed with a knife”) worked the better t