Breich
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country = Scotland
| static_image_name = Breich, West Lothian.jpg
| static_image_caption = The A71 through Breich
| coordinates = {{coord|55.831|-3.655|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference = NS963608
| official_name = Breich
| label_position = top
| population = 209
| civil_parish = West Calder
| unitary_scotland = West Lothian
| constituency_westminster = Livingston
| constituency_scottish_parliament = Almond Valley
| post_town = WEST CALDER
| postcode_district = EH55
| postcode_area = EH
| dial_code = 01501
}}
Breich ({{IPAc-en|b|r|iː|x}}) is a small village lying in the western part of West Lothian, Scotland.{{cite map|title=Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 65 Falkirk & Linlithgow (Dunfermline)|ISBN= 9780319229705 |publisher=Ordnance Survey|date=2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendatadownload/products.html|title=Ordnance Survey: 1:50,000 Scale Gazetteer|format=csv (download)|date= 1 January 2016|publisher=Ordnance Survey|website=www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk|accessdate=30 January 2016}} It lies on the A71, the Edinburgh to Ayrshire 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, Bathgate and Linlithgow.File:Breich Station - geograph.org.uk - 1214292.jpg.]]
Etymology
Breich is named after the nearby Breich Water.{{cite web|url=http://maps.nls.uk/view/75652031|title=View: Linlithgowshire Sheet XII.SW (includes: West Calder; Whitburn) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960|website=maps.NLS.uk|access-date=6 December 2017}} This name may be derived from Brittonic *brïch,{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Alan G. |title=A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence - Guide to the Elements |url=https://spns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Alan_James_Brittonic_Language_in_the_Old_North_BLITON_Volume_II_Dictionary_2019_Edition.pdf |website=Scottish Place Name Society - The Brittonic Language in the Old North |accessdate=25 October 2018}} meaning "variegated, mottled, speckled" (Welsh brych), or the early Gaelic cognate brecc. Derivation from Gaelic breac, meaning "trout", is possible, but the earliest form is Brech from 1199.
Demography
According to a 2015 West Lothian report,{{cite web |title=This Scottish railway station is used by just three passengers a week |url=https://www.railstaff.co.uk/2017/06/27/scottish-railway-station-used-just-three-passengers-week/ |website=RailStaff |accessdate=4 June 2019}} 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 is on the Shotts Line, 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
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External links
{{Commons category inline|Breich}}
- [http://www.scottishshale.co.uk/GazMines/Breich1+2Pit.html Museum of the Scottish shale oil industry - Breich No. 1 & 2 pits]
- [http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/100387/photographs/woodmuir+colliery+pits+nos+5+and+6/ Canmore - Woodmuir Colliery, Pits Nos.5 and 6 site record]
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