Beacon shows the way in Bo'ness

Scenic Kinneil Estate is in fact interchangeable with the history of the River Forth and a new art project will is aiming to showcase just that.

A new structure has appeared overlooking the viewpoint to the waterway from the estate kirk in the form of three steel arch ‘beacons’.

It has been placed there as this was once a ‘seamark’ which sailors used to navigate the river and is one of seven in the wider area.

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Another beacon is being installed at Bo’ness Foreshore and an additional project featuring smaller ‘markers’ will be installed back at Kinneil’s own foreshore.

All have been constructed by the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative at Ballantine Castings in Bo’ness itself.

Involving the local community in the construction process is seen as a means of neatly re-connecting locals to an aspect of their environment that has sometimes been overlooked.

IFLI former programme manager Tom Churchyard said: “The project aims to ensure that the Inner Forth landscape is recognised as an important and intrinsic part of Scotland’s national and historic heritage.

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“The beacon’s arches are made of a special steel called corten, which is designed to withstand the weather and oxidise to a rich russet, echoing the industrial heritage of the area.”

The Inner Forth area runs all the way from Stirling Bridge to Blackness Castle and it is hoped that all the beacons and markers will be fully in place across the sites by the end of the month.