The Forth Bridge

The Forth Bridge opened in 1890 and still does the job it was built for, carrying scheduled trains between Edinburgh and Fife. Designed by John Fowler and Benjamin Baker, it was the first major structure in Britain built of steel rather than iron, and its three double cantilevers, balanced on granite piers, cross the firth in two clear runs of 521 metres each. Nothing about it is disguised: tubes, lattice and rivets are all on show, under the red oxide paint that made it a national shorthand for endless work. You cannot walk or drive across it, but you can stand directly beneath it in South Queensferry, where the village street runs under the approach and the trains rumble overhead.

History

Ferries carried travellers across the Firth before the bridge: tunnels were proposed in 1806, a suspension bridge in 1818, and Thomas Bouch designed a train ferry that opened in 1850 and worked in the 1860s on a bridge for the Forth. The Forth Bridge Railway Act of 19 May 1882 authorised a redesigned bridge by John Fowler and Benjamin Baker, Sir William Arrol's firm won the contract that December, and girders from the fallen Tay Bridge were reused on the site. The bridge, 2,467 metres long, was opened on 4 March 1890 by the future Edward VII, held the longest cantilever span in the world until Quebec in 1919, and is a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Forth Bridge).

What to look for

• The cantilever profile - three balanced towers and two clear spans of 521 metres.
• South Queensferry - the old village street beneath the southern approach.
• The three bridges together - the 1890 rail bridge, the 1964 road bridge and the 2017 crossing.
• Boat trips - short sailings under the spans and out towards Inchcolm.

When to go

Year-round. Low winter sun from the south lights the steelwork best in the afternoon; summer evenings hold light past nine. Boat trips run roughly Easter to October and are cancelled in heavy wind. Weekdays carry the busiest train timetable if you want a locomotive on the bridge in your photograph.

Before you go

There is no walkway and no observation platform, so this is a bridge you look at rather than experience from on it. Parking in South Queensferry fills fast on summer weekends. Wind off the firth is strong and cold in any month. The 1964 road bridge crowds many of the viewpoints, and finding a clean composition takes some walking.

Nearby

South Queensferry's harbour front, Inchcolm Abbey by boat and North Queensferry across the water.

Key facts