The River Esk at Valleyfield.

When we first moved into Midlothian some thirty five years ago, the River Esk had serious problems with pollution. Valleyfield was an industrial site occupied by a paper mill while the river valley from here to Musselburgh, a dozen miles to the East, was home to about a dozen such factories, in addition there were the gunpowder and carpet factories in Roslin Glen, all of which had been known to allow noxious chemicals into the river. By the time we arrived, there was only the one paper mill remaining at Dalmore, that was closed down ten years ago. I remember walking dogs in the glen and coming across two suited gentlemen collecting water samples as there had been a bad chemical leak. We didn't return with the dogs for several weeks as they did like going in the river.

I believe Valleyfield provided the paper for both Encyclopaedia Britannica and The Scotsman in their early years, consequently the town of Penicuik is featured on the panels covering those two institutions in The Great Scottish Tapestry.

When residents of Penicuik emigrated to Canada, they took their papermaking skills with them and settled in a place that they called Valleyfield; more recently, the residents, led by the mayor, have supported cultural ventures over here.

Our Valleyfield has long been a slightly posh housing estate while Dalmore is currently making that transition.