A popular local venue, The Willow Tree, has had a complete refurbishment. Customers are being encouraged to come in and use the new look premises.
The function Suite at the Willow Tree (formerly the Black Bitch Tavern) at 14 West Port was stripped back to the walls. It was the biggest renovation since the facility was first created in 1971.
That was a year after long-serving licensee, Catherine Liddell, sold the Black Bitch Tavern to Brightons-based building contractor, Bruce Wilson. He completely transformed what was believed to be the oldest pub in the town, building a new and much larger public bar and creating an upstairs lounge and a downstairs lounge in what had previously been two houses.
The extensive work took over a year to complete and the upstairs lounge was officially opened on May 31st 1971 by Rangers and Scotland footballer, Colin Stein. The downstairs lounge would be completed later.
Meet the Owners
I called into the pub as they were busy preparing for the Marches celebrations and spoke to Elizabeth Carlin. Together with her partner, Robert Lowe, they have the lease on the premises. Elizabeth was keen to explain the extent of the upstairs makeover and told me:
“The room was absolutely gutted. We went back to the bare brick and all that was kept was some of the wood panelling. We decided on fixed seating round the walls to make it easier for the customers and increase the capacity. And we didn’t scrimp at all on the fixtures and fittings and employed a professional designer to organise the furnishings and decoration. The completely new bar was hand-made by a carpenter from Fife and we replaced the whole floor. We can comfortably seat fifty and even when it is busy, it never feels claustrophobic in the Willow Tree”.
Function Suite
The Willow Tree Function Suite is the ideal venue for celebrations of all kinds, including birthdays, baby showers, christenings, renewals of vows and small funerals. “We did a First Communion party recently and we’ve even done a full wedding”, Elizabeth told me. “We can cater to the needs of the customers and offer a bespoke service for their event. This includes music, catering, and drinks. Our beautiful new bar is well-stocked and we can order in specific spirits on request”.
In recent times, the upstairs Function Suite has hosted the ‘Wee Whisky Socials’ organized by the Wee Whisky Shop on Linlithgow High Street and these have proved to be very popular. The next one will take place on Thursday July 23rd.
For further details about the Function Suite – and all the other facilities available at the Willow Tree (formerly the Black Bitch Tavern), give Elizabeth and Robert a call on 01506 842147, or pop in to the pub any day from 11am.
Article published in the Black Bitch Community Magazine. Issue 123, July 2026 by Murdoch Kennedy.
