A substantial quarry which stretches along the southern side of the Hirst Road, to the west of Eastfield and the south of the M8 Motorway in North Lanarkshire, Tam's Loup Quarry exploits an elongated micro-gabbro sill, an igneous rock intruded between coal measures in Carboniferous times and referred to as whinstone. Operated by Tillicoultry Quarries (2019), it produces aggregate, an amount of which is formed onsite into asphalt for road-building and ready-mixed concrete for the building industry. The site includes sizeable settling ponds to prevent the pollution of natural watercourses.
The quarry removed a series of crags one of which brought the demise of Tam Baird in the 15th C. Legend has it that Tam had been warned by the parish priest for his excessive drinking and swearing. One night after much of both, perhaps at a wedding, he lost his way while riding home over the moors between Shotts and Harthill. He rode over the one of these crags (hence Tam's Leap or Loup), was killed and is said to have gone straight to hell for his sins. Local folklore suggests the coins from his pocket were found here many years later.
