Whitecross is a small village within the Falkirk council area

Falkirk (council area)

Falkirk is one of the 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland. It borders onto North Lanarkshire to the south west, Stirling to the north west, West Lothian to the south east and, across the Firth of Forth to the north east, Fife and Clackmannanshire...

, close to the boundary of West Lothian

West Lothian

West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

 council in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It lies 2 miles (3.2 km) west-southwest of Linlithgow

Linlithgow

Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....

 and 2.5 miles (4 km) south-east of Polmont

Polmont

Polmont is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village....

 on the west bank of the River Avon.

The United Kingdom 2001 census reported the population as 819.

Manuel Junction

Manuel Junction

Manuel Junction is a railway junction near the village of Whitecross, Falkirk, Scotland. It currently serves both as the terminus of the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway and as the connection between the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line and that railway...

, where the branch line from Bo'ness

Bo'ness

Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...

 used by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society

Scottish Railway Preservation Society

The Scottish Railway Preservation Society is a charity, whose principal objective is the preservation and advancement of railway heritage in Scotland. The Society was formed in 1961, and it has been actively collecting and displaying railway artifacts of Scottish significance ever since...

 meets the Glasgow Queen Street station to Edinburgh Waverley station main line, lies north-east of Whitecross. The main local industries were a brickworks and coal mining, both now ceased. The Avon Aqueduct

Avon Aqueduct

The Avon Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct on the Union Canal near Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is long and high; it is the longest and tallest aqueduct in Scotland, and the second longest in Britain...

 carries the Union Canal

Union Canal (Scotland)

The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...

 across the River Avon just south of Whitecross.

The ruins of Manuel Priory are close to Whitecross on the eastern, West Lothian

West Lothian

West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, bank of the Avon. This was a Cistercian convent founded, or perhaps re-founded, in the reign of King Malcolm IV of Scotland

Malcolm IV of Scotland

Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...

(1153–1165). The remains of the 15th century Haining Castle lie in the grounds of the former Manuel brickwork north-east of Whitecross.