(119) Five Sisters

This is a view of the Five Sisters shale bing that dominates the landscape just north of West Calder, in West Lothian. The hills were created from the waste material produced by process of refining oil from shale deposits. In the early twentieth century Scottish oil production was at its highest, employing over 12,000 people. Competition from American and later Middle Eastern oilfields was a problem as it was cheaper to import oil. Grangemouth refinery opened in 1924, using expertise developed in shale oil refineries, to process imported oil. The industry contracted in the 1920s, revived before the Second World War to protect oil supplies, and eventually closed completely in the 1960s. The red colour of the bings is gradually disappearing as nature takes it course and vegetation spreads across the surface. The extra shows the abandoned Freeport shopping centre, which closed down in 2004. 

Flying camera footage is on Youtube:

Five Sisters
Freeport Shopping Centre