The Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth extends from Kincardine to the North Sea, that is, to an imaginary line drawn, just west of the Isle of May, from the East Neuk of Fife to the mouth of the Tyne in Haddingtonshire a distance of 48 m. Thus, according to some calculations, the Forth measures from source to sea 114 m. The width of the firth varies from 3/4 m. at Kincardine and 13/4 m. at Queensferry to 63/4 m. at Leith and 171/2 m. at the mouth. The chief waters are, on the south, the Carron, Avon, Almond, Leith, Esk and Tyne, and on the north, the Tiel, Leven, Kid and Dreel. The principal ports on the south shore are Grangemouth, Boness, Granton and Leith, and on the north, Burntisland and Kirkcaldy; but fishery centres and holiday resorts are very numerous on both coasts.

Since the opening of the Forth Railway Bridge in 1890 the ferries at Queensferry and Burntisland have disappeared. The fisheries are dwindling. The larger islands are Inchcolm, with the ruins of an abbey, Inchkeith, with fortifications and a lighthouse, and the Isle of May, with a lighthouse. The anchorage of St Margarets Hope, with the Ferryport of Rosyth, lies off the shore of Fife immediately to the west of the Forth Road Bridge.

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