Breich is a small village lying in the western part of

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

, Scotland. It lies on the A71, the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

road, which also goes to the large town of

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

7 miles to the east. It is situated at the junction of the A706, to

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...

and

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) 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 ...

Etymology

''Breich'' is named after the nearby

Breich Water Breich is a small village lying in the western part of West Lothian, Scotland. It lies on the A71 road, A71, the Edinburgh to Ayrshire road, which also goes to the large town of Livingston, West Lothian, Livingston 7 miles to the east. It is sit ...

. This name may be derived from

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

''*brïch'', meaning "variegated, mottled, speckled" (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

''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 , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Breich railway station. View west towards Addiewell. West Lothian. Shotts Line.jpg , borough = Breich, West Lothian , country = Scot ...

is on the

Shotts Line The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line linking and via in Scotland. 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 tow ...

, 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
Villages in West Lothian {{WestLothian-geo-stub