Falkirk was once a battleground, but harmony and innovation are now to the fore. By Nan Spowart

Perhaps no other building is a better symbol of the aspirations of the town of Falkirk than its Steeple, the present structure which has stood tall in the high street for 200 years and is the emblem of the football team. Its height is echoed by the latest addition to the landscape, the vast steel Kelpies, which has attracted a million visitors since opening in April 2014, helping to put Falkirk back on the map.

But it was a metal of a different variety – iron – that first brought prosperity to the town. The closure of the many ironworks in the area as the industry declined in the 20th century led to harder times but, in typically robust fashion, Falkirk has responded to the challenges of modernity and is increasingly seen as a desirable place to work, live and visit.

The engineering genius of the Falkirk Wheel, which opened in the year 2002, first signalled the intention to move boldly into the new century with a reinvention of the area, once known primarily as the midpoint of the motorway and railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Now a renowned national and international tourist attraction, the Wheel connects the Forth and Clyde and Union canals, both of which greatly helped the town’s development in the 18th and 19th centuries. Before their arrival and the opening of the first ironworks in 1760, Falkirk was a market town, known mainly for its great cattle trysts where sometimes more than 50,000 head of cattle were assembled for sale.

“Glasgow for bells, Linlithgow for wells and Falkirk for beans and pease” was an old rhyme although the crops in the area must have suffered from the battles resulting from the town’s strategic position on a high ridge of land on the routes between the Highlands, Stirling, Linlithgow, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

But much earlier, there were once Roman forts on either side of Falkirk and the Antonine Wall, now a World Heritage Site, ran right through the centre of the present town. Remnants can still be seen at Callendar Park and across the district.

Later St Modan, patron saint of Falkirk, is believed to have built the first Christian church in the area around 700AD and it was this or a later church building that gave the town its Scots name, Faw Kirk, the “speckled church”. The modern parish church still stands on its site and the nearby graveyard boasts the only known tomb of one of William Wallace’s knights – Sir John de Graeme. Wallace is said to have carried the body to the grave himself following the first Battle of Falkirk in 1298 when the English triumphed. Revenge came much later during the second Battle of Falkirk in 1746 when Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army thrashed General Hawley’s English troops.

Later, peaceful years enabled Falkirk to develop from a market town into a centre of industry. While the canals were superseded by the railway their importance to Falkirk cannot be denied and it is fitting that Sir Lawrence Dundas, financial  investor in the Forth and Clyde Canal, is buried in the town’s old graveyard. Along with the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies, the graveyard, which has had a major clean-up, is beginning to pull visitors back into the town.

Its establishment as a tourist attraction has helped Falkirk gain a further £3.6 million in heritage funding to rejuvenate the town centre which boasts a number of quality independent retailers, award-winning bars and restaurants. Open since 1990, the Howgate Shopping  Centre is the dominant retail destination in the town centre with a mix of national and independent retailers that attracts almost 6m visitors each year.

“Falkirk is reinventing itself as a tourism town,” says Councillor Dennis Goldie, Falkirk Council’s spokesperson on economic development. “Visitors are already coming to see the Kelpies and the Wheel but we also have fabulous restaurants, bars and award-winning independent shops. It used to be that Falkirk was seen as a half day destination but it is increasingly being viewed as an overnight one.”

The Premier Inn is refurbishing all four of its local hotels and adding 66 new bedrooms. Strengthened by the success the council has had with rejuvenating the centres of nearby Denny, Bo’ness and Stenhousemuir, there is growing confidence the same will be achieved in Falkirk. The Scottish Government considers Falkirk  an example of best practice and the town is to host the Scotland’s Towns Partnership conference in November.

“The whole area is being revamped as our vision is to bring in jobs with tourism and other industries,” explains Goldie. “We already know our strategy is working as there is more interest in Falkirk and the surrounding area. Connecting our two national icons to the town centre will allow the town to embrace change for the future. The reality of pressures on Scotland’s High Streets means we need to look at all opportunities.”

“Better meddle with the Deil than the Bairns of Falkirk” is the motto on the burgh’s coat of arms and the refurbishment of the town is evidence that that same pride lives on.