Three Bridges Tour

Scotland summers are fleeting at best and with lockdown consuming a portion of that short time, we were determined to make the most of the time we had left before school (virtual or otherwise) began again.  One very chilly summer morning we decided to join friends for a boat tour onboard the Maiden of the Forth for a day out!  Both the girls as well as us moms were excited at the prospect of a whole day out of the house.  We joined the crew for a leisurely sail around the firth enjoying the sights and history of the bridges as well as Inchcolm Island.  

One highlight of Edinburgh is it's location nestled between the North Sea and the Firth of Forth (not to be confused with 5th of 4th).  Firth is a word used in the Scots language to refer to a coastal body of water.  We would think of it as a straight or an inlet.  Forth refers to the River Forth, which is one of the major rivers that feeds into the inlet that connects to the North Sea.  The famous Three Bridges stretch across the Firth of Forth to connect The Lothians with the Kingdom of Fife.  The three bridges sit side-by-side-by-side across the firth as a symbol of engineering evolution.

The first bridge was the Forth Rail Bridge that was completed in 1890 and provide a vital means of moving supplies across Scotland by railway.  The bridge was the first of it's kind as a cantilever suspension bridge made completely of steel, rather than iron.  Both the designer and contractor were knighted for their work on the Forth Rail Bridge.

The second bridge emerged as Britain’s road system flourished in the 1930s.  There became a clear need for more convenient vehicular passage between Edinburgh and Fife.  The bridge was approved in 1947, however due to numerous delays work did not begin until 1958.  The Forth Road Bridge was officially opened in 1964 as the fourth longest bridge in the world and the longest outside of the United States.

The Forth Road Bridge had a life expectancy of 120 years, but in the 21st century the planned capacity of 11 million vehicles per year had risen to more than 23 million.  A maintenance inspection conducted on the bridge in 2003 discovered that the main suspension cables had suffered a loss of 10% due to corrosion. The accelerated loss of strength threaten to limit the bridges capacity by 2014 with closure by 2019.  This information, along with the strategic transport importance of the bridge, prompted discussions for replacement.  In 2007 the Queensferry Crossing was approved at an estimated cost of $5.2 billion.  The bridge was completed in 2017.  Queensferry Crossing is the longest three-tower cable stayed bridge in the world and has more than 23,000 mile of cable.

We made our way underneath the bridges and out toward the sea to Inchcolm Island.  Under normal circumstances we would have been able to disembark at Inchcolm and tour the Abbey which was built in 1140, but Covid eliminated the option.  We were only able to gaze at the medieval monastery as we made our loop around the island to head back to the bridges.  We passed several colonies of seals along the way who were happy to wave as we passed.  

After the boat tour we wandered in the village of Qeensferry for a collective mother/daughter lunch at a lovely restaurant on the shore.  Then we walked to the local creamery for summer ice cream and milk shakes, even through we were all sheltered within our winter coats.