No roughcaster listed in Blackridge yet.

A roughcaster applies a textured external finish to buildings - the traditional Scottish harling that protects stone and blockwork walls from the weather while giving them a clean, uniform appearance.

Harling is one of Scotland's most common wall finishes and when it cracks, blows or starts to let in damp, getting it patched or replaced promptly prevents more expensive damage to the masonry underneath.

Ask whether they use traditional lime harling or modern cement render - on older stone buildings, lime-based finishes allow the walls to breathe and avoid the moisture problems that cement can cause.

Blackridge is a village on the western edge of West Lothian, close to the North Lanarkshire boundary and sitting on the high ground above the Barbauchlaw Burn.

It was among the more remote of the county's mining settlements and though the pits are long gone, the village has retained a distinct, self-contained character - a place with its own primary school, community spirit and views across open moorland.

The surrounding landscape is rugged and elevated compared to lowland West Lothian, giving Blackridge a feel closer to the upland villages of Lanarkshire than the commuter towns further east.

The M8 at Harthill junction is nearby, giving direct access to Edinburgh and Glasgow without needing to pass through other West Lothian towns.

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West Lothian is a council area in the heart of the central belt, sitting between Edinburgh to the east, Falkirk to the north and North Lanarkshire to the west.

It is a county of contrasts: historic royal burghs like Linlithgow and ancient villages like Torphichen sit alongside the new town of Livingston and the former mining and shale oil communities that shaped the landscape in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Livingston is the county's main centre - Scotland's fifth-largest settlement - but West Lothian's character is defined as much by its smaller towns: Bathgate, Broxburn, Whitburn and Linlithgow each have their own distinct identity.

The oil shale industry, pioneered here in the 1850s by James Young, left a lasting mark on the landscape in the form of distinctive pink bings - the waste heaps of the shale works - that have become recognised landmarks in their own right.

West Lothian has excellent transport connections, with the M8 and M9 crossing the county, two rail lines linking it to Edinburgh and Glasgow and Edinburgh Airport on its eastern edge.