I saw the exhibit in the museum too by the way, and it's remarkable what they were able to make from the stuff. Fertiliser too apparently, and hydrochloric acid. Looking at the model of the retorts there I had an idea they were big, but the photo with the men standing in front was amazing. It seems no retorts survive, only models - a bit of a shame, but I guess 'industrial heritage' is a recent idea.
On the hunt for visible remains now, so I am. With that in mind, up to Philpstoun. (Strangely, until the other week I always thought it was 'Philipstoun', but no second 'i'. It is pronounced with the second 'i' though, to confuse the unwary. The things you learn...)
Philpstoun then. The Philpstoun Oil Company began producing in the 1880s, with its own retorting works and refinery on-site, though this was out of use by around 1925. Mining continued though, and there are two bings left on either side of the Union Canal, the older one to the north. The southern bing was fed by a tramway over the canal, with its concrete piers still there. The southern one is a strange creature, having been partly removed years ago for building purposes. It's not as spectacular as Greendykes, but it's all the more odd for having been hollowed out.
Inside, looking back to the entrance:
Odd landscape:
The compulsory sighting of Binny Craig in the distance:
Hollowed out:
A strange leftover peak:
Down where the old oil works were, there is just shy of damn all left. You can tell the land's been levelled for use and there are small mounds that suggest the remains of buildings, but that's about it. There's lots of bricks, with a few courses still there, but the area's too overgrown to get an overview. This is the closest to a standing building:
(Don't laugh!)
The only standing structures, other than the bings, are the two piers for the tramway over the canal. This is the southern one, viewed from the top of the smaller northern pier. (The tramway ran on a fairly steep incline.)
Finally, a bit of the more intact northern bing. They do look better with blue skies: