Anyone visiting Edinburgh, Scotland should be sure to make the short, 14-kilomtre journey from the city centre to the town of South Queensferry to see the three bridges crossing the Firth of Forth, including the world famous Forth Bridge. The Firth of Forth is the estuary of several Scottish rivers, including the River Forth, and empties into the North Sea. ('Firth' means the same in Gaelic as 'fjord' in Norwegian). The Firth of Forth has a long maritime heritage linked to shipbuilding and ship-breaking, naval basing, commercial docks, and industrial works, which continues today with its role as a transshipment point for North Sea oil. In the First World War, Forth-based battlecruisers of the Royal Navy were observed by locals limping back to their base at Rosyth from the Battle of Jutland after losing three of their number to Germany's High Seas Fleet on 31 May and 1 June 1916. On 21 November 1918, following the Armistice, 40 British battleships and battlecruisers, joined by more than 150 cruisers and destroyers, sortied from their bases in the Firth of Forth to rendezvous with the remnants of the German Imperial Navy's surface fleet 40 miles east of the Isle of May. This massive show of British naval strength (Operation ZZ) was designed to underline to the Germans that they had truly been defeated, as well as dissuade any embittered German captains from attempting a suicidal last stand. With the rendezvous and the surrender of Germany's nine battleships, five battlecruisers, seven cruisers, and 50 destroyers effected, the combined British-German fleet steamed west into the Firth of Forth to anchor off the island of Inchkeith. It was the largest gathering of naval ships in one place at one time in naval history, and so spectacular was the sight that boat trips were organised for interested members of the public.
Below: Both sides of a pamphlet on the 3 Bridges Tour, provided by Edinburgh Bus Tours, and valid for the period 6 April to 27 October 2019.
Photos taken 15 April 2019
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The famous red Forth Bridge, as seen from Newhalls Road in South Queensferry. The North British Railway commenced construction of the Forth Bridge in 1882 and the bridge was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, who drove in the ceremonial gold-plated last rivet. The first major structure built of steel in Britain, the Forth Bridge measures 2,467 metres (8,094 feet) long and held the record for the world's longest single cantilever bridge span (521 metres) until 1919. So iconic is the Forth Bridge that it was voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016 and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| The Forth Bridge is seen on the right, with the 1964 Forth Road Bridge visible on the left. Both bridges connect the towns of South Queensferry (in Lothian) and North Queensferry (in Fife). |
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| The Forth Belle, a 29 metre (95 foot) tour boat operated by Forth Tours, which takes sightseers on the 3 Bridges Tour. The boat seats up to 215 passengers, including 100 in the heated indoor saloon and the remainder on the open forward and aft decks. Two Perkins Sabre M215C engines power Forth Belle at speeds up to 12 knots (13.8 mph). A small licensed bar and toilets are located on the lower deck. |
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| The open aft deck on the Forth Belle. |
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| The enclosed heated saloon deck. |
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| The Forth Bridge carries only rail traffic on a double track elevated 45.72 metres (150 feet) above the water of the Firth of Forth at high tide. Construction of the Forth Bridge cost the lives of 73 workers: 38 died from falls, 9 were crushed, 9 drowned, 8 were struck by falling objects, 3 died in fires, 1 died of decompression sickness, and 5 died of unknown causes. |
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| The Forth Bridge's steel superstructure weighs 51,324 tons, including the 6.5 million rivets used in its construction. Additionally, 18,122 cubic metres (640,000 cubic feet) of granite was used for the piers on which the three cantilevered sections sit. |
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| Passengers on the Forth Belle marvel at the Forth Bridge. Each of the bridge's three cantilever structures is 110.03 metres (361 feet) tall and is supported on four granite piers. The 2011 application of a specially-designed coating with a 25 year lifespan will ensure that the Forth Bridge does not need to be re-painted until 2036. |
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| Tugboats moored in the Firth of Forth assist tankers using the Hound Point oil export terminal (seen in the background). The 449 gross ton Cramond (right) was built in 1994 and measures 34.85 metres (114.3 feet) long and 10.5 metres (34.4 feet) wide. The 947 gross ton Hopetoun (middle) was built in 1997 and measures 43.5 metes (142.7 feet) long and 13.5 metres (44.3 feet) wide. |
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| The Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Gener8 Supreme loads oil at Hound Point marine terminal, east of the Forth Bridge. Opened in 1975, Hound Point is the largest such marine oil terminal in Scotland, with two sea-island berths for tankers up to 350,000 deadweight tonnage and a vapour recovery platform. North Sea oil is pumped through the Forties pipeline to the Kinneil Terminal at Grangemouth on the Forth, where it is stabilised and undergoes gas processsing before being piped to a tank farm at Dalmeny; from this tank farm, the oil is piped to Hound Point for loading onto tankers. Gener8 Supreme was built in 2016, displaces 300,932 deadweight tons, and measures 333 metres (1,092.5 feet) long and 60 metres (196.9 feet) wide. |
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Inchcolm Island, as seen from the Forth Belle. The island lies in the Firth of Forth a quarter mile from shore and to the east of of the Forth Bridge. It is most famous for its medieval Augustinian abbey, the best preserved monastic complex in Scotland, seen in the centre of the photo.
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| Scotland's King David I (1124-1153) established an Augustinian priory on Inchcolm Island in 1147, which was later elevated to an abbey in 1235. Following the Protestant Reformation of 1560, the church was partially dismantled. Today, the ruins of Inchcolm Abbey are managed by Historic Scotland, which charges a fee to visit the island. Inchcolm Island also features the remains of coastal defence fortifications build during the First and Second World Wars to protect the vital naval bases located upriver. |
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| Looking up the Firth of Forth, with the Forth Bridge's three cantilevered sections spanning the water. |
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| The Forth Road Bridge, measuring 2,512 metres (8,241 feet) long and located to the west of the Forth Bridge. Construction of this bridge began in September 1958 and consumed almost 40,000 tons of steel and 125,000 cubic metres of concrete. The £19.5 million Forth Road Bridge was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 4 September 1964 and was, at that time, the longest steel suspension bridge in Europe. Since 1 February 2018, the Forth Road Bridge has been designated a Public Transport Corridor, used only by buses, taxis, cyclists, and pedestrians. |
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| The newest of the three bridges crossing the Firth of Forth at this location is the Queensferry Crossing, officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 4 September 2017, 53 years to the day after she opened the Forth Road Bridge in 1964. Construction of this three-tower cable-stayed bridge began in September 2011, and was completed on 27 August 2017 at a cost of £1.35 billion. The Queensferry Crossing measures 2,700 metres (8,858 feet) in length, and each of its three towers is 207 metres (679 feet) high, making it the UK's tallest bridge. The Queensferry Crossing is now the principal vehicular crossing over the Firth of Forth, carrying the M90 motorway between Edinburgh and Fife. |
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| A view of all three bridges spanning the Firth of Forth at Queensferry: the Queensferry Crossing (foregound), the Forth Road Bridge (middle), and the Forth Bridge (background). |
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| The Forth Belle prepares to take on another load of passengers for the 3 Bridges Tour, 15 April 2019. |
