Forth Bridges Scotland History & Maps

The Forth Bridges, Firth of Forth, Scotland

Forth Bridge, Scotland, UK — The Forth Bridge is the oldest of the three Forth bridges

The Forth Bridges near Edinburgh in Scotland cross the Firth of Forth from Queensferry to North Queensferry. The three bridges also span three centuries in time.

The first of the three bridges built was the Forth Bridge in 1890. Next came the Forth Road Bridge in 1964, followed by the Queensferry Crossing in 2017. Interestingly, the latter two were both opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Forth Bridge is 14 km west of Edinburgh. Firth means estuary and comes from the Norse word fjord meaning inlet. To the west the Forth is crossed by the Kincardine Bridge and the Clackmannanshire Bridge at Kincardine.

The Forth Bridges

Forth Bridge

The Forth Bridge spans the estuary of the Forth River outside Edinburgh in Scotland and is the world's longest multi-span cantilever bridge.

It is also now the second longest single cantilever bridge after Quebec Bridge in Canada.

The Forth Bridge opened in 1890 and carries railway passengers and freight. It was designed by English engineers Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler and carries the Edinburgh to Aberdeen railway line across the Forth.

Altogether the bridge is 8,094 feet (2,467 meters) in length. The engineering marvel of its time is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the first of several bridges that now span the the Forth River.

Forth Road Bridge

The Forth Road Bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest steel suspension bridge in Europe. It resembles both the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Ponte 25 Abril in Lisbon. After the opening of the Queensferry Crossing, the Forth Road Bridge closed for repairs. It reopened in 2018 with priority given to public transport, cyclists and pedestrians.

Queensferry Crossing

The Queensferry Crossing is a road bridge that carries the M90 motorway across the Forth. It is adjacent to the previous Forth Road Bridge which had exceeded capacity and was found to have structural problems in 2004. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the bridge in 2017 as she had done the Forth Road Bridge in 1964. Cable-stayed the structure has three concrete towers each 207 metres (679 feet) high. This makes them the tallest bridge towers in the UK.

Further Info

The official site has construction photographs, weather information and webcams.

theforthbridges.org

Access - Getting There

The nearest railway stations to the bridges are North Queensferry on the Fife side of the Forth and Dalmeny, south of the Forth Bridge and handy for South Queensferry. Services from Edinburgh Waverley Station take about 20 minutes to North Queensferry and 18 minutes to Dalmeny.

Regular buses run from Edinburgh to both North and South Queensferry.

There are several viewpoints on both sides of the estuary.

Dundas Castle is a short distance south of the bridges. The castle is originally from the 15th century with significant additions in the 19th century. It is owned by Sir Jack Stewart-Clark.