Breich () is a small village lying in the western part of

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

, Scotland. It lies on the A71, the

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

road, which also goes to the large town of Livingston 7 miles to the east. It is situated at the junction of the A706, to

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

and

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

Etymology

''Breich'' is named after the nearby Breich Water. This name may be derived from Brittonic ''*brïch'', meaning "variegated, mottled, speckled" (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

''brych''), or the early Gaelic cognate ''brecc''. Derivation from

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

''breac'', meaning "trout", is possible, but the earliest form is ''Brech'' from 1199.

Demography

According to a 2015 West Lothian report, Breich has a population of 209.

Amenities and features

The village consists mainly of a single row of houses by the roadside, with some new builds behind the single row.

Breich railway station Breich railway station is a rural railway station serving the village of Breich in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the Shotts Line, west of towards . It was the sixth-least-used station in the UK until 2018-19 and was the second-leas ...

is on the

Shotts Line The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line in Scotland linking and via . It is one of the four rail links between the two cities. Between Glasgow Central and , the line is shared with the West Coast Main Line (WCML), before branching off to ...

, until 2018 was served by one eastbound and one westbound train per day. Since then, the line has been electrified the station has been rebuilt and is served by an hourly train in each direction. A nearby coal bing (spoil heap) was used as a speedway training track in the late 1960s.

Media

The Channel 4 TV comedy series '' Absolutely'' used Breich as a location for the fictional town of Stoneybridge, showing photographs of the houses by the roadside in a mock promotional video. It also used the nearby 'Five Sisters' spoil heap in the same scene.

References

External links

Museum of the Scottish shale oil industry - Breich No. 1 & 2 pitsCanmore - Woodmuir Colliery, Pits Nos.5 and 6 site record
{{authority control Villages in West Lothian