08/06/2026
Thank you to everyone involved in the Arch this year! 👏 ⭐️
With the arch taken down for another year we wanted to express our heartfelt thanks to all the following people and businesses who played a part in making the building of the 2026 Procession Arch a huge success:
Carol Johnstone for her continued dedication to completing the majority of the crepe paper designs, we honestly could not do it without her!
Ian and Alastair Keith for bringing their many years of arch building expertise once again and training the next generation!
Catriona Peacock for her months of work to create the stunning flags of Haiti, Morocco and Brazil to celebrate Scotland getting through to the World Cup!
Colin Peacock for his mammoth task of documenting the people, history and images of the Bathgate Arches available here (https://bathgateprocession.com/bathgate-procession-arch/ ) If you have any images of the street arches that you are happy to contribute to this archive, please look out for further information in the coming weeks!
Link Group Limited & Curb Scotland who organised everything needed to move, build and dismantle the arch:
Scott Forrest
Gordon Bell
Alan Walker
Mark Fountain
John Fletcher
Mark Higgins
Arthur Davren
Josie Kilgannon
Layton Brown
Saltire Scaffolding Limited who brought the muscle and scaffolding needed to lift the very heavy spruced boughs into place:
Peter Newby
Tom Chisholm
Ben Astor
Andy Hunter
Declan Fitzpatrick
Gav Astor
Mary McNab from New Royal Bar for the tray of drinks and £200 donation to the Arch in memory of fondly remembered barmaid Iris Main. Iris loved the Procession and the Arch and started the tradition of providing drinks to the Arch builders.
Lester Bertram from David Philp Commercials LTD for repairing the metal boughs of the arch.
A2B Motorcycle Training & Shop WL Ltd and Fraser and Sons Ltd for providing vehicles for transporting the arch and spruce.
Stevenson Bros for the conversion of the used spruce into Biomass fuel.
Forestry and Land Scotland for giving us permission to cut the Norwegian spruce for both the arch and decorated houses.
Purdie Worldwide Removals & Storage Limited for tucking the arch away safely for next year!
Cappadocia Cafe Bistro for keeping us fed!
The following people who twisted wire, cut crepe paper, assembled dottles, filled and trimmed designs, lifted the arch, cut/collected/attached/trimmed spruce, provided moral support and brought the arch to life:
Rachael Hossack
Catherine Gegan
Ian Gegan
Scott Gegan
Catriona Peacock
Colin Peacock
Ruby Beattie
Andy Reid
David Hossack
Alan Segrott
Stewart Segrott
Jackie Segrott
Sonia Segrott
Jack MacFarlane
Sam MacFarlane
Nicola MacFarlane
Aimee McRae
Alison Scott
Maurice Scott
Tamas Szabics
Adam Marr
Liam James
Elaine Robertson
Jamie Robertson
Kay Taylor
Lester Bertram
Lesley McGiffen
Steven Orrell
Claire Frame
Anne Sangster
Marilyn Forrest
Also a special mention once again to Linda Gibson who worked hard to resurrect the arch two years ago, without her dedication the arch would not have been built this year.
To the people of Bathgate, thank you for continuing to show your appreciation for the Arch. Your words of thanks as we've worked and the many pictures shared with memories and thanks have made it an absolute honour to carry on the tradition.
And to the many Arch Builders of Bathgate that have gone before, thank you for leading the way.
Thank you all! 🤩🥳❤️
(Thanks to Liam James Condor Entertainment for providing some of the images for this post and for helping to build the arch too!)
