A Brief History of a Little Industrial Town: BO'NESS

Bo'ness was once known as Borrowstounness before being hit by the Great Worldwide Letter Shortage of 1652. The town has been a major Scottish port from the 17th century, and closed as recently as 1959.

There's probably been a port there, or nearby, from Roman times, given that the Antonine Wall, once known in parts as Graham's Dyke, terminated on the Firth of Forth at Bridgeness, now part of Bo'ness.

And where you get a port you also get a lot of industry. My Old Blue Guide to Scotland is short-and-sweet on Bo'ness, describing it as 'a little industrial town and coaling port'.

In the past there's been coal mines and ironstone mines, iron works, a distillery, chemical works, pottery, saw-mills and timber yards. Timber was once so important to Bo'ness that it came to be known as 'Pitpropolis' after the huge number of wooden pit-props processed in the town for use in coal mines.

The port: harbour, dock and timber basin, was said to be the second largest in Scotland, after Leith. In the 1720s Daniel Defoe, novelist, journalist and spy, wrote that Bo'ness had more ships than Edinburgh and Leith combined.

But times change and, perhaps as a result of industrial decline, the port closed for good in 1959. It was said by some at the time that the port had been deliberately rundown and neglected so as to prove that it was no longer financially viable. Some people even used the word 'sabotaged'!

But rather than becoming a dead town, Bo'ness has managed to retain a few of its old industries. Ballantine's iron foundry still exists, and there are still timber yards in the town. So all is not lost.

In addition to that industry, Bo'ness has reinvented itself as a major tourist attraction, with the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway and its steam trains, along with the Museum of Scottish Railways.

Combine that with stunning views over and across the wide Firth of Forth from the steep braes in the town, bracing sea breezes, and what is probably the best fish-supper in Scotland at Corvi's - 'Proper Fish & Chips'... well, I can't think of a better day out.

In this video we will look briefly at old Bo'ness and compare it with the Bo'ness of today, using a combination of modern video footage and old photographs.

So come with me on an adventure. And bring any spare letters you've got sitting about the house, because perhaps one day the town will become whole again. TO BORROWSTOUNNESS!