Kinneil Estate - short
Take the short walk around Kinneil House and view the cottage where James Watt tested his steam engines. This walk is suitable for disabled visitors and has hard stone paths for wheelchairs and disabled toilet facilities. (850mts - ½ mile) 

A visit to Kinneil House is well rewarded with good views of the steep glen at Gil Burn, the ruined cottage used by James Watt and the ruins of the mediaeval Kinneil Church. Within the grounds of Kinneil House lies a small museum with a variety of Roman artefacts. The museum is open from 12.30 until 4pm on Mondays to Saturdays all year round. 

Displaying a variety of Roman artefacts in an interesting exhibition and with interpretation boards around the site, this makes a very interesting venue and well worth a visit. The museum also displays examples of cast-iron objects and locally produced pottery. Nearby, adjacent to Kinneil House, is the workshop cottage of the inventor James Watt. He and Dr John Roebuck were joint-patent holders in a project to develop an improved steam engine.

Roebuck hoped this would improve the pumping of water from his Bo'ness coal pits. The Kinneil trials were not entirely successful, but this merely delayed Watt, who was later to perfect his design and as a result, revolutionize the use of steam power.

Falkirk Museums provides a service to schools and colleges, including

• Teachers' Resource Centre
• Curricular Advice
• Planning visits to the museums
• Information on exhibitions and activities
• Loan of resource packs
• Pre-visit and In-service training for teachers
• Newsletter detailing current resources, activities, events and exhibitions

Activities for 5-14 curriculum

• The Georgian Experience, with costumes and hands-on activities, suitable for topics linked to Understanding People and Places in the Past
• Roman Activities Week
• Activity Guide to Kinneil Estate, suitable for Environmental Studies

For more information contact 01324-503781

Set in the magnificent Kinneil Estate, the house can be viewed from the outside, but is closed indefinitely to the public. The Hamilton family constructed the existing building during the 16th and 17th centuries, but they probably had a residence on the site as far back as the 14th century. The house was later leased to various tenants, including John Roebuck, who was a partner in the Carron Company, and the philosopher Dugald Stewart.

A RADAR key is required for the disabled toilets at the entrance to the old walled garden. Another 'superloo' is available at the rear car park entrance. There are steps up to the museum entrance.

The paths around the carpark and the house itself are hard stone paths and are suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The ground is level with only a few slightly steeper gradients to overcome from the house to carpark..

Situated close by Bo'ness there are a variety of other sites of interest including the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, Birkhill Clay Mine, and a cycle route to South Queensferry along the coast road via Blackness and Hopetoun Estate.

For a more extensive walk or cycle through the network of paths around Kinneil Woods see Kinneil (long)