IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Stewartfield Road, BROXBURN, EH52 5EP

This view is looking south over the Eastern edge of Broxburn, towards the Pentland hills in the distance. This playing field and the all the woodland surrounding it was, not so long ago, a shale bing. Just shows what can be done!

Recently saved from closure this is the home of "Pan Drops" a well known Scottish confection. The factory is actually in Broxburn about 8 miles from Edinburgh.

Beyond the fence is the rather smart home of Broxburn Athletic, who currently play in the East of Scotland League.

With the east end of Broxburn in the foreground and Winchburgh in the distance.

On the site of the Stewartfield oil shale mine.

Until the 1950s or so, Greendykes Road ran between north-south orientated streets of cottages built for workers in the shale oil industry. These 'rows' have now been swept away and replaced with modern council housing, in blocks orientated east-west.

Autumn scene of playing fields next to Stewartfield in Broxburn, taken from the eastern side looking northwest.

Scottish Cup Preliminary Round, Broxburn Athletic 3 Blackburn United 0, Estimated Attendance 200 Both teams are in the East of Scotland Premier League, which sits at Tier 6 in Scotland's football pyramid. While the scoreline flatters the home side a bit, they were the deserving winners. Broxburn are in the red and white, which will be obvious to the experienced football fan by the railings etc. Blackburn, fittingly, play in the black - had they been a bigger team they would no doubt have been sporting an unnecessary away kit to boost football shirt sales! There seems to have been a pitch here since the 1880s, and Broxburn Athletic, in some shape or form, did play on this ground - originally known as Albion Park - on and off before making it their permanent home immediately after the Second World War. The grass pitch was swapped for AstroTurf around 12 years ago. The steep grass banks are impressive, and were very comfortable in the sunshine, and one of the people I was with was adamant that this half-time pie was the best he had ever had in 40 years of attending football matches! As is the norm with these smaller grounds, the advertisement boards promoting local businesses are written in such small type that only the players will have registered them.

When the Union Canal between Edinburgh and Falkirk was re-opened in 2001-2 as part of the Millennium Link canal route across Scotland, West Lothian Council arranged for the building of one of the very few slipways on it at which boats can be launched. This is at Stewartfield, north of Broxburn and opposite a moonscape of waste from former shale mining and oil extraction operations. Here a small canal trip boat is about to be removed from the canal for its winter maintenance. In the far background is Greendykes Road bridge, built as part of the canal's rejuvenation.

In the distance is Bridge No 28.