Bo’ness was almost an inland town. In late 17th C, Dutch engineers proposed a dyke to “reclaim” 2000 acres of the Forth. Bo’ness sea-traders turned them down. It’s the fault of the traders too that the Forth and Clyde Canal ends in Grangemouth and not Bo’ness.
In 1803, a gang of Newhaven fishermen came up to Bo’ness to steal the mussels at Ladies Scaup. Bo’ness boats chased them down, and fought to get some of them back, but most were lost in deep water. Although some were put back, the Scaup never recovered.
