Unique in Scotland in terms of the scale of the operation, West Lothian Foodbank has a substantial garden adjacent to the warehouse in Bathgate. It has 335 raised beds, three poly tunnels, 100 fruit trees and much more. “I just wanted to be able to give folk fresh food too,” explains Kathleen

Soap was a smelly business. The main ingredients were tallow (animal fat) and sea kelp. The demand for tallow was such that it was imported from overseas, and the port at South Queensferry was ideally placed for this as well as for delivery of kelp from the Hebrides.

It has a boat club, a beach, some brightly painted buildings, great food and an ancient fortress overlooking the town. The tongue-in-cheek comparison between Blackness and St Tropez, proclaimed on the wall of the Lobster Pot in the centre of the village, seems entirely reasonable!