Scotland's First Oil Rush

Scotland witnessed the world's first true "oil rush", when inventor James "Paraffin" Young first refined lighting fuel from a shale rock known as "torbanite" in 1851. There followed more than a century of the shale oil industry, which employed thousands and whose fortunes ebbed and flowed with industrialisation and two world wars. Presented by geologist Professor Iain Stewart, this film tells the story of shale, its lasting impact on one Scottish community - West Lothian - and the massive and unique landmarks still visible today.