Camelon

Camelon is a village in the Scottish unitary authority Falkirk. It is in the traditional county of Stirlingshire, about three kilometers west of the center of Falkirk and about twelve kilometers south-east of Stirling in the Central Belt. Camelon is located on the Forth and Clyde Canal and the River Carron. In 1991 Camelon recorded 3272 inhabitants. Today Camelon is a western district of Falkirk.

History

South of Camelon runs the Antonine Wall and in the field of Camelon remains of Roman settlements have been found. Picts are said to have settled in the area between the Roman withdrawal and the 9th century. The Carron might have been to Camelon navigable at that time. This seems plausible as the Firth of Forth likely to continue into enough at this time in the land mass. So at Camelon an anchor was found.

Camelon developed with the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canals in the 1770s. Between 1798 and 1861, the same distillery was operated in Camelon. It was eventually abandoned and the buildings partially reused from the nearby Rosebank distillery. At Camelon the Forth and Clyde Canal were united numerous locks with the Union Canal. In 2002, the Falkirk Wheel was west of Camelon opened and replaced the lock installations.

Religion

The communities Irving and St John's Church of Scotland in 2003 merged to Camelon Parish Church with about 400 members.

Designed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia Catholic Church of St Mary of the Angels was completed in 1961 and is since 1994 a monument of Category A. The municipality, which includes large parts of Falkirk, has 1,500 members and is part of the Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh.

Traffic

By the A9 Plean, the most important highway of the Scottish Highlands runs, on their way from Falkirk to Thurso. The highways M9, M80 and M876 run a few miles north and northwest. Camelon has its own railway station, the First ScotRail operated on the Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and the Cumbernauld Line.

The Forth and Clyde Canal at Camelon

Station of Camelon