I love a good boat trip, I like to think it gives me a different perspective of a place. On my trip to Edinburgh, I was looking to take a boat to Inchcolm Island and hadn’t realised that South Queensferry, from which they depart, is beside both Forth Bridges.
This was a welcome surprise and I was delighted to discover the trip to Inchcolm also entailed a boat ride under both bridges.
The two Forth Bridges, rail and road, dominate the landscape near Queensferry and it was fascinating to see them up close and sail under them. The iconic red rail bridge in particular is a spectacular sight and is a marvellous piece of engineering.
In the shadow of the rail bridge is one of my favourite sights on the firth, Inchgarvie Island, which is shaped uncannily like a battleship and was, like many of the islands in the firth, an important defensive outpost during both world wars.
It was great to be out on the firth during the construction of the third bridge. I’ve always wondered how they build these great bridges over vast stretches of water and it gave me an insight into how this is achieved.
Essentially, once they’ve built the concrete pillars, they add a section of the road one bit at a time, winching it up from a boat below, then fastening it into place. Once the section is secure, they move onto the next part, and so on, until the bridge is complete.
Little Old World 