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Visit
Browse, eat and have a wander.
Free visitor entry from 9 am–2 pm, rain or shine. Dogs on leads are welcome and there is a portaloo on site.
Get directions
More than a market
A weekly market with a bigger job.
Bathgate Market is run by Unicorn Markets C.I.C. Market income supports affordable trading, free local activity, volunteering, reuse and projects that strengthen Bathgate.
A start for small businesses
Affordable, pay-on-the-day pitches and equipment hire give first-time sellers and established traders a practical route to customers.
A place for everyone
A free weekly pitch has welcomed a growing network of charities, community groups and social enterprises, while volunteering and family activity make it easier to take part—not just turn up.
A practical force for good
Car boots keep useful things in circulation, while growing, clean-up and repair projects create visible local change.
Where it really began
A university assignment became a real market.
In my final year studying business, I was asked to write a business plan for a social enterprise. I started researching what had happened to the Old Bathgate Market.
The more people I spoke to, the more stories and memories I heard—about the stalls, the people and just how much the Old Bathgate Market had meant to the town. It had been a massive part of life in Bathgate. That assignment became a conviction: don’t just write the plan; bring a market back to Bathgate.
Read Lucy’s Fellowship profile- 2023
The market opens
On 27 February, Unicorn Markets C.I.C. was formed. On Saturday 10 June, Bathgate Market and car boot sale opened at the old railway station car park as a five-week trial.
- Opening day
- Around 4,000 visitors were reported, giving Bathgate’s returning market a remarkable first Saturday.
- Family history
- Lucy remembers a genealogist joining the launch, connecting the new market day with Bathgate’s family stories and memories.
- Here to stay
- The successful pilot was extended and grew into a year-round weekly market, with free pitches already helping charities and community groups take part.
- After dark
- Family scavenger hunts and the first Halloween and Christmas evening markets followed before the year was out.
- 2024
More ways to take part
A longer-term lease and planning permission gave the market a firmer base. Weekly Saturdays continued while the programme branched into specialist events and practical support.
- 5 May
- The first Equestrian Market created a dedicated day for riders, horse owners and specialist sellers.
- Summer
- A council-funded programme brought seven Saturdays of free fun—from planting and craft workshops to face painting, magic and a gaming van.
- Free pitch
- Local groups used the weekly community space to raise funds and meet people—including a Christian Aid stall in July.
- Free family fun
- Scavenger hunts became a recurring feature, and an October pumpkin patch let children choose a pumpkin free of charge.
- 2025
A platform for the community
The market kept lowering the barrier to trying something new, while taking on a bigger part in Bathgate’s town-centre occasions.
- New traders
- Six local businesswomen received sponsored pitches through West Lothian’s entrepreneurship programme, and several continued selling afterwards.
- Good causes
- Free community pitches continued to help local charities raise funds and speak directly with market visitors.
- 6 December
- Bathgate Market ran the Christmas Street Market in The Steelyard and George Street as part of the town’s festive switch-on.
- 2026
Local action, wider learning
Community activity widened into growing, reuse, repair and learning—all alongside the weekly market.
- 3 June
- An intergenerational hanging-basket workshop, delivered with The Brock and supported by Barchester’s Charitable Foundation, brought people together to learn and grow.
- Reuse
- Two Equestrian Markets collected donated tack and raised funds for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust.
- Summer programme
- West Lothian Council backed seven Saturdays of free Get into Summer activity at the market for children aged 5–14.
- In development
- The funded Bathgate Repair Café pilot is being prepared to share skills, cut waste and help households save money.
- Recognition
- Founding Director Lucy Lawson was selected as a 2026 Churchill Fellow to research community-led market models in Germany and the USA.
Community groups
Use the free weekly pitch.
Raise funds, recruit volunteers and help local people discover what your organisation does.
Ask about a free pitch →Volunteers
Build confidence by doing.
Help with set-up, stewarding, teamwork, community activity and caring for the site.
Volunteer with us →Funders and partners
Bring the next good idea.
We welcome practical partnerships around free activity, enterprise, volunteering, repair and reuse.
Start a conversation →