History and geography
Limerigg was traditionally a sparsely populated region, with only a few scattered farmsteads forming a community around the isolated area. [2] This changed with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland, as like neighbouring villages in the area, great deposits of coal and oil were discovered, and later exploited and extracted. [3] Natural resources brought capitalists and workers into the area, and the population rose rapidly, hitting a high of 1204 by 1881. [4] This expansion was supported by a branch of the Slamannan Railway, which allowed the transfer of Limerigg's natural resources to the Union Canal, and from there, the rest of the central belt. In 1790, the Black Loch was dammed on the south side, which allowed it to be used as a source for both the Monkland Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal. At least five collieries operated in Limerigg within the second half of the 19th century, with the impact of this resource extraction leaving a long lasting mark on the local area. By the First World War, resource extraction in the area began to become unprofitable as resources began to pile in cheaper from the British Empire, specifically from Australia, and the pits began to close. This caused the miners and much of the local population to leave the area, to elsewhere in Scotland, Britain, or the colonies, in search of employment. The result of this was decline, of both the overall population of the village, and the local quality of life (due to unemployment).
The remaining coal pits closed after the Second World War, which continued the village's overall decline. However, the energetic local councillor and Church of Scotland minister, the Rev Alexander Cameron, used his influence as the local councilor to encourage the Forestry Commission to cover the whole high-moorland area in trees. He was also responsible for demolishing the last of the old miners’ rows and the building of some fifty council houses. As a keen sportsman, he was one of the founders of the first jet-ski club in Scotland, with excellent facilities on the Black Loch, in 1950. His policies helped to slow and stall the overall decline of the village. By the 1970s and 1980s, the decline had begun to set in again, which was attributed to economic downturn and feuds among local families. Intervention from the local MP and the council once again reversed the village's fortunes, and by the late 90s, the village was on the road to recovery, despite initial doubts. [5] In 2010 a 4000-year-old Bronze Age barb and tang flint arrowhead was found on the peat moss on the western outskirts of the village, showing human habitation in the Limerigg area dating as far back as 2000 BC. This is now housed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Jet skiing ended on the Black Loch in the early 2000s, with the old jet-ski club being converted into a fishery. Nowadays, Limerigg and the Black Loch is a hotspot for fishing, with the loch being stocked with rainbow trout. The fishery on the loch is private, and a license is required to fish in the loch. This business was forced to temporarily close in the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, alongside many local schools and businesses. [6]
The village is 8.2 miles south of Falkirk, and roughly 1.2 miles south of Slamannan. Limerigg is considered to be within the Parish of Slamannan.
Limerigg is known locally as the Capital of the Braes, a name which came about due to its position as the highest village on the Slamannan Plateau. The Scottish watershed also passes partially through Limerigg. [7]
Airdrie is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow city centre. As of 2012, the town had a population of around 37,130. Historically part of Lanarkshire, Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in what is commonly known as the Monklands, formerly a district..
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Stirling, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian. The council covers parts of the traditional counties of Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire.
West Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Avon to the west and the Almond to the east. The modern council area occupies a larger area than the historic county. It was reshaped following local government reforms in 1975: some areas in the west were transferred to Falkirk; some areas in the east were transferred to Edinburgh; and some areas that had formerly been part of in Midlothian were added to West Lothian.
The Avon is a river largely in the Falkirk council area of Scotland.
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, 23+1⁄2 miles northwest of Edinburgh and 20+1⁄2 miles (33 km) northeast of Glasgow.
Grangemouth is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Falkirk, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Bo'ness and 13 miles (20.9 km) south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001 Census. Preliminary figures from the 2011 census reported the number as 17,373.
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
The Stirling council area is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 94,330. It was created under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central local government region, and it covers most of Stirlingshire and the south-western portion of Perthshire. Both counties were abolished for local government purposes under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about 8+1⁄2 miles east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands, often considered to be part of the Greater Glasgow urban area – although officially they have not been included in population figures since 2016 due to small gaps between the Monklands and Glasgow built-up areas.
Polmont is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village.
The Slamannan Railway was an early mineral railway between the north-eastern margin of Airdrie and Causewayend on the Union Canal, near Linlithgow, Scotland.
Bainsford is a small village within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated in the Forth Valley, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town of Falkirk. It is positioned between the River Carron and the Forth and Clyde Canal to the north and south respectively.
Slamannan is a village in the south of the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is 4.6 miles (7.4 km) south-west of Falkirk, 6.0 miles (9.7 km) east of Cumbernauld and 7.1 miles (11.4 km) north-east of Airdrie.
The Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway was a railway built in Scotland in 1848 to extend the Slamannan Railway to the harbour at Borrowstounness on the Firth of Forth, and to connect with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. It was not commercially successful, but in recent years part of it was taken over by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, which operates the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway.
California is a former pit village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It lies between Shieldhill and Avonbridge on the uplands which form the southern edge of the council area.
The Black Loch is a small freshwater loch or reservoir in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. It is near the village of Limerigg and close to the boundary with North Lanarkshire.
Drumpellier Country Park is a country park situated to the west of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was designated as a country park in 1984 by the then Monklands council, part of Strathclyde. The park covers an area of 500 acres (2.0 km2) and comprises two natural lochs, lowland heath, mixed woodlands and open grassland. The Monkland Canal lies towards the southern perimeter of the park. The lochs and the canal attract many water birds, both resident and over-wintering migrants, and the loch shores and woodland floor provides an abundance of wild flora. The woodlands are also rich in bird life, small wild animals and many types of fungi.
The Slamannan Plateau is a geographic area and special protection area in the Central Belt of Scotland which encompasses the small villages of Slamannan, Limerigg and Caldercruix. It is situated 5 km south of Falkirk and about 4 km east of Cumbernauld, at around 170 m above sea level.
The Falkirk Braes is a geographical and sociopolitical entity within the Falkirk local authority area in Scotland. The population is approximately 32,000 (2018), about 20% of the total for Falkirk council area.
