Linlithgow, United Kingdom

Linlithgow is located in the north-east of West Lothian, close to the border with the Falkirk Council area (historically part of Stirlingshire). It lies 20 miles (32 km) west of Edinburgh along the main railway route to Glasgow. Before the construction of the M8 and M9 motorways and the opening of the Forth Road Bridge, the town lay on the main road from Edinburgh to Stirling, Perth and Inverness, while the canal system linked the burgh to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The nearby village of Blackness once served as the burgh's port. Linlithgow is overlooked by its local hill, Cockleroi.

Linlithgow's rich history and central location make it a popular tourist destination, while many local people commute to Glasgow, Edinburgh or Stirling; this is made relatively easy by the town's railway station and its proximity to both the M8 and M9 motorways.

The town is served by four supermarkets and a retail park situated in Linlithgow Bridge. There are also a diverse range of local retailers in the High Street. In 2012, there were controversial proposals for a new retail and housing development to the east of the town which were opposed by several local groups. However, in November 2013, the planning application was rejected due to the effect it would have on the towns character.

Linlithgow is home to a major computing centre owned by Oracle and to the telecommunication company Calnex Solutions, founded in 2006 in the town and which floated on the AIM market in September 2020.

Former industries include the St. Magdalene's distillery, the Nobel explosives works, paper mills and many tanneries. The Regent Centre, now known as Nobel House, replaced the previous 1908 build Nobel Explosive Company Works Factory in 1983 and is home to a small shopping centre, with several shops and a bank.

The Riding of the Marches, held in one form or another since the mid-16th century and nowadays celebrated on the first Tuesday after the second Thursday in June, involves young and old in the tradition of checking the burgh's perimeter, including the town's historic port of Blackness. Although today's activities are centred more on the colourful parades through the town that involve bands and floats decorated by local groups, the more ceremonial duties of the Marches are still performed, and a variety of local groups ensure that the traditions, old and new, are maintained.

There are many other events during the year such as the Children's Gala Day, the Linlithgow Folk Festival and a pre-Christmas Victorian Street Fayre, and since 2014, Party at the Palace which is a music festival held annually in August by the loch and has brought acts including Nile Rodgers, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis, Simple Minds, The Proclaimers, Texas and many others to play in the town. The Charlatans and Deacon Blue headlined Party at the Palace 2019. The sense of community is enhanced by many active local groups such as Linlithgow Amateur Musical Productions (LAMP), Lithca Lore, the Linlithgow Players and the 41 Club. The town also has its own weekly local newspaper, the Linlithgow Gazette.

The Linlithgow Union Canal Society runs a canal museum and operates narrowboat tours from Manse Road basin.

Linlithgow has one Secondary school, Linlithgow Academy. The original Linlithgow Academy was housed in a purpose build sandstone building in East Port, designed in a Scots renaissance style with turrets by James Graham Fairley in 1900. The Academy moved to a new school complex on Braehead Road in 1968 towards the south-west of the town and the old academy buildings are now home to Low Port Primary School.

The town has five primary schools: Linlithgow Primary School, St Joseph's RC Primary School, Linlithgow Bridge Primary School, Low Port Primary School and Springfield Primary School.

Donaldson's School, Scotland's national school for the deaf, is based in the town, having relocated from Edinburgh to a new campus (the Sensational Learning Centre) in Linlithgow in 2008, designed by JM Architects. The school was built on the site of a former Signetics electronics factory that had opened in 1969 during the Silicon Glen period of development, which itself was built on an earlier Racal factory that produced defence radars and displays.

Linlithgow does not have a college in the town. The nearest colleges are West Lothian College in Livingston and Forth Valley College in Falkirk.