Queensferry - a tale of two bridges, soon to be three!

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Once upon a time you needed to take a ferry to cross the Firth of Forth, just west of Edinburgh. Fifty years ago, all that changed as the Forth Road Bridge opened. The ferries stopped and motorists saved a lot of time on their journeys. Of course, rail passengers have been able to utilise the more picturesque Rail Bridge since 1890.

As time has progressed, the road bridge has got busier and busier and it is estimated that some 65000 vehicles now cross over it every day. The bridge is struggling to cope as it was designed in a day when far fewer cars were on the road and nobody could have predicted the exponential growth in road traffic. The solution is a new bridge which is being built in clear view of the old one. The new Queensferry Crossing is due to open in 2016 and will be used by private motorists whilst public transport will continue to use the current bridge.

At the moment you can get a good view of both bridges and the construction of the new one from North Queensferry. You can get right underneath the rail bridge for a very unusual view of it. The harbour area is really nice and if the sun is shining it makes a good place to stroll around for an hour.

Slightly better for getting an overall view of the bridges is South Queensferry. It's a lovely town with far more to offer than its neighbour on the opposite bank. You could spend a whole day wandering around, sipping a coffee or a beer, and taking a ferry out to Inchcolm Island with its Augustinian abbey and World War II fortifications. We didn't have the luxury of time though and had to settle for a quick look around and some lovely photos of the bridges.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Scotland
We love Scotland. We missed this town but think we should add it to our next visit.