Falkirk (/ˈfɔːlkɜːrk/ FAWL-kurk; Scots: Fawkirk [ˈfɔːkɪrk]; Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Bhreac) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire.

[7] The Antonine Wall, which stretches across the centre of Scotland, passed through the town and remnants of it can be seen at Callendar Park.

[10] A Roman themed park at Callendar House was awarded lottery funding to help raise awareness of the wall.

James Watt cast some of the beams for his early steam engine designs at the Carron Iron Works in 1765.

Through time, trunk roads and motorways followed the same canal corridors through the Falkirk area, linking the town with the rest of Scotland.

The headquarters of the council are located in the Municipal Buildings, adjacent to the former FTH Theatre, on West Bridge Street in the centre of town.

The previous MSP, Dennis Canavan, who sat as an Independent, was elected with the largest majority in the Scottish parliament representing Falkirk's electorate's displeasure with New Labour, but stepped down in 2007 for family reasons.

[19] Canavan, who announced in an open letter to his constituents in January 2007, that he was stepping down from representative politics at the Scottish Parliament election, 2007 had been an MSP or MP for the area for over 30 years.

[21] In the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the town is entirely contained within the UK parliamentary constituency of Falkirk which elects one member to the House of Commons under the plurality system.

[22] The constituency also takes in surrounding villages and is currently represented by Euan Stainbank of the Scottish Labour Party.

The prevailing wind direction is from the south-west, which is associated with warm, unstable air from the Gulf Stream that gives rise to rainfall.

[29] The population of the town and surrounding area is forecast to grow over the next ten years, primarily due to net in migration from other parts of Scotland and the UK.

Today, the economy of Falkirk is focused on retail and services, in contrast to the heavy industries and manufacturing sectors which contributed to the growth of the town over the last 300 years.

Falkirk is a large retail centre catering to the town itself and a wide surrounding area, stretching from Cumbernauld in the west to Bo'ness in the east.

[31] The retailer Marks and Spencer opened a store in Falkirk Town Centre in 1936 but this closed in 2018 (the building is now a creative arts space).

[34][35] A number of supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Scottish Co-op have developed on peripheral sites surrounding the town centre since the late 1990s.

[15] One of the principal offices of the UK Child Support Agency, covering Scotland and the north east of England, is located in the Callendar Business Park on the outskirts of Falkirk.

[37] Similarly the National Health Service (NHS) and Department for Work and Pensions have a presence in the town and employ local residents.

Many Falkirk residents are also employed within the petrochemicals sector based in neighbouring Grangemouth where there is an agglomeration of such industries underpinned by the Ineos (formerly BP) oil refinery located there.

[38] Alexander Dennis, one of the world's largest bus manufacturers, is headquartered in Falkirk with the operations plant located nearby.

Hosted in Falkirk's historical Callendar Park, the venue covers 180 acres (75 hectares) with Callendar House as the focal point, the entertainment featured a wide variety of outdoor theatre, pyrotechnic displays, arts, comedy and big name music acts, alongside activities for all ages.

The historical Callendar House is an imposing mansion with a 600-year history which is now a public museum and open access parkland, with a cafe and shop.

[43] The Community Hospital continues to have a Minor Injury Unit, to treat emergency cases of a non life-threatening nature.

Nearby, on Cow Wynd is the Tattie Kirk, a Category B listed octagonal former church built in 1804, adjacent to its former graveyard.

The centre is due to be demolished in 2024 with a view to constructing a combined new town hall, theatre, library and civic space for Falkirk.

[52] The Falkirk Area occupies a central position in Scotland, with direct access from the key north–south and east–west motorway networks: the M9 from the north and east and the M876 from the west.

At peak times, 8 trains per hour stop: 4 for Glasgow Queen Street via Croy and 4 for Edinburgh Waverley, via Polmont and Linlithgow.

The club currently competes in the Scottish Championship and plays their home games at the Falkirk Stadium near Grangemouth.

The town's other men's club, East Stirlingshire F.C., was founded in 1881 originally as Bainsford Britannia and has competed in the Scottish Football League since 1900.

The club has risen through the ranks of rugby winning six consecutive promotions, five of them as league champions, a Scottish record.