Why visit Bilston
Townapedia lists 17 museums and landmarks, 6 parks and trails, 34 places to eat and 3 places to stay in and around town.
Highlights include Mavisbank House, Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway, Roslin Glen Country Park and Secret Herb Garden.
Weather in Bilston
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Bilston
Bilston is a small village in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located on the edge of Edinburgh, just south of Loanhead on the A701. The Bilston Burn Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was occupied from 2002 until the mid-2010s by protestors who successfully opposed plans for a bypass.
From the Wikipedia article Bilston, Midlothian (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Bilston
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Museums and landmarks17
Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway
Monument and historic site · 1.2 mi
Poet Drummond's Seat
Monument and historic site · 1.5 mi
A rock that has been sculpted into a bench
5 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds6
Roslin Glen Country Park
Park · 1.3 mi
Country park in Midlothian, Scotland, UK
Restaurants and cafes34
Dolly’s Tearoom
Cafe · 1.1 mi
2 Penicuik Road
Mo-Su 09:00-17:00
Stewart Brewery Bar & Pizza Kitchen
Bar and pub · Pizza · 0.6 mi
We 17:00-22:00; Th 16:00-22:00; Fr,Sa 12:00-22:00; Su 12:00-20:00
Coffee Bake House
Cafe · 1.2 mi
67 Clerk Street, Loanhead
Mo-Sa 07:30-16:00; Su 08:30-16:00
22 more on the map.
Where to stay3
History
Bilston is a village which was set up to service the local coal-mining industry. The Bilston Glen Colliery produced coal until its closure in 1989. It is located next to woodland and the Bilston Glen industrial estate. The village is overlooked by a tower which used be part of the Dryden House, which was set on a hill overlooking the River Forth. Bilston Burn is a tributary of the River North Esk. It flows east from the village, and the woods it runs through are classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). John Comyn stayed in the woods with his troops before the Battle of Roslin in 1303.
Bilston has a primary school, Bilston Primary. Police Scotland run a control room at Bilston Glen and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland set up a coronavirus control centre there.
From the History section of Bilston, Midlothian on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Churches and places of worship7
Shopping11
Gas and EV charging2
Schools, colleges and libraries7
Healthcare2
Map of Bilston
89 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 9 miles away.
- Bonnyrigg 3 mi east, about 5 min by car
- Penicuik 3 mi southwest, about 5 min by car
- Dalkeith 5 mi east, about 7 min by car
- Mayfield 5 mi east, about 9 min by car
- Edinburgh 6 mi north, about 9 min by car
- Musselburgh 7 mi northeast, about 11 min by car
- Ratho 9 mi northwest, about 14 min by car
- Tranent 10 mi northeast, about 16 min by car
- Newbridge 10 mi northwest, about 16 min by car
- Broxburn 12 mi west, about 20 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Bilston
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Pen-Y-Cog bus on the A701 at Bilston, 14 February 2013, Jim Barton, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Roslin - Cappella di Rosslyn 01, Syrio, CC BY-SA 4.0
- RoslinCastle1, Taken by User:Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Glencorse railway, Afterbrunel, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mavisbank House - principal elevation, Tom Parnell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Roslin Kirk main facade, Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rosslyn Chapel (Mentioned in Dan Brown's DaVinci Code), Sabine Perry, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hawthornden Castle, 2013, Magnus Hagdorn from UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Mavisbank House 02, Kognos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, victuallers, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ccbb7766, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, drnoble, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, hobgoblin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, victuallers, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ccbb7766, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, drnoble, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, lucagm, CC BY-SA 4.0
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