Finding a hotel in West Lothian
West Lothian borders onto City of Edinburgh, Falkirk and Midlothian. It covers 164 square miles (427 sq. km.) and has a population around 159,000. The area is also a traditional county. Geography
Carboniferous sedimentary rocks in broad strips running north south underlie most
of the area. To the east and south are the oldest and least useful rocks while in
the east-central band is a large shale oil field greatly exploited in the 19th and
early 20th centuries and running along the Bathgate Hills. Large red shale bings
stand prominently near Broxburn, Livingston and West Calder, and some are protected
as heritage monuments. The west-central band of sedimentary and basalt rocks supplies
silica sand while the area to the west (Armadale, Whitburn) is dominated by Scotland's
central coalfield.
IndustryWest Lothian excels in electronics, software and communications with six of its largest 10 private employers in these sectors. Its old industries of coal and oil are virtually extinct as are attempts at other industries such as automobile manufacturing. Light industry continues to grow here because of the concentration of expertise as well as for easy access to Scotland's road and rail network and to nearby Edinburgh airport. HistoryWest Lothian was earlier known as Linlithgowshire until 1975 when it became a district in Lothian Region. In 1996 it became the 20th largest of the 32 unitary authorities. Its population grew rapidly in the mid-19th century with the oil and coal industries which built boom towns throughout the area. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, West Lothian was divided between the Lothian and Central regions. In the local government reorganization of 1996, the Lothian and Central regions were dissolved and the council area of West Lothian was created in part from that portion of the county of West Lothian that had been assigned to the Lothian region. The county of West Lothian was formerly called Linlithgow or Linlithgowshire. Places of interestBlackness Castle |
