One of the best boat trips I've been on is the cruise around the bridges and islands of the Firth of Forth. Departing from Hawes Pier in South Queensferry, the Maid of the Forth is licensed to carry 225 passengers and seating on the vessel is over two levels. The lower deck is fully enclosed and heated with refreshment facilities and toilets. The open top deck is excellent for enjoying the fresh sea air and scanning around with binoculars. Photography can be tricky, due to the bobbing motion. The same company also operates a 12-seater rib for more specialised wildlife watching expeditions. The standard Three Bridges Cruise on the Maid of the Forth lasts and hour and a half and costs £16 per person - which Nicole and I have done twice. There are also options to disembark at Inchcolm and explore the island before taking a later boat back to South Queensferry.
On a third occasion, we booked ourselves on an RSPB charter where wildlife experts were on hand to give commentary and answer questions as the Maid of the Forth circled Inchcolm and Inchmickery before heading for the more distant Inchkeith (not inlcuded on the regular tourist trip). Unfortunately we happened to pick a very misty day and even the mighty Forth Bridge was only partly visible as we set sail. Much of the cruise was a white-out but it did clear up a bit as we edged towards the shore at Inchkeith and a few puffins put in an appearance. Some consolation at least. Inchkeith is privately owned but seems to all intents and purposes an abandoned place. The lighthouse has been automated since 1985 and there is also a foghorn in place. I suppose maintenance crews come over now and again to carry out an inspection. The island was fortified during the war but the military moved out in the 1950s. Crumbling remains of defence installations are very much in evidence. In theory, a permit is required to land but that didn't seem to have concerned the two guys on in wet suits who had parked their jet skis on the beach. I've also seen Facebook photos of people reaching Inchkeith by kayak. There are a few curious tales about the island from centuries gone by. It was used to quarantine people suffering from the plague and other nasty diseases, notably syphilis. The most bizarre project however was an alleged attempt by King James IV to discover the "Language of God". He wanted to determine if humans had a tongue that was innate. What sort of speech would emerge if no language was formally learned in childhood? The King ordered a mute woman to be placed on the island, caring for two infants. She was well equipped to care for their health but unable to communicate with them by voice. Although there are records confirming that James did travel to Inchkeith, many historians reckon the language experiment to be pure fabrication. Such trials have taken place though in other locations. Did the kids converse in fluent Hebrew? We headed back to Hawes Pier rather disappointed with the outcome of the cruise, but what can you do? I couldn't even add to my pin-badge collection of birds as the card reader in the RSPB shop on the lower deck wasn't functioning. I can however look back on the two previous jaunts along the Forth and share some memories and pictures. My sister Linda accompanied us on the first occasion, as did our friend Krista who was visiting from Germany. The second cruise - a rather wet affair - saw us joined by friends Shauna and Gareth, along with Shauna's mother who had flown in from Australia. Both trips were followed by a hearty lunch in the Hawes Inn.
The departure pier is sited almost under the Forth Bridge. The facts about this iconic structure are well known - opened in 1890, the gargantuan steel cantilever crossing has a total length of a mile and a half. It is thought to be massively over engineered due to public confidence being low after the collapse of the Tay Bridge just a decade earlier. The apocryphal tale of painting the girders from end to end then starting over again is a good one, although its believability was damaged after the application of a special paint that is designed to last 20 years, meaning the sight of painters dangling high above is now far less common. Not many people know that the Forth Bridge wasn't actually the first major railway crossing of the river. Upstream at Alloa, a quarter-mile swing bridge was completed in 1885 and carried traffic until 1968. Partial demolition came three years later and now only a ghostly curve of support columns remains. The tiny rocky island of Inchgarvie bears some of the Forth Bridge's weight. Train passengers can look down upon the outcrop and the war defences are easy to spot. No doubt the solid footing of Inchgarvie made construction of the bridge an easier (and more cost effective) process. The men who went beneath the waves in caissons to secure the foundations to the sea bed had arguably the most dangerous job. Several were drowned and many more suffered from a mysterious sickness, known nowadays as the bends. The island of Inchmickery (pictured above) is often said to resemble a battleship. It's central location meant it was heavily fortified at the outbreak of WW2 and much of this concrete superstructure remains intact. The island (just 200 metres long and half as much wide) is now managed by the RSPB as a nature reserve. Ships must navigate their way around these islands but a (largely hidden) danger is the rocks that are only exposed at low tide. Sitting just below the high water mark, these formations were responsible for many a wreck in the days before modern mapping technology. We saw quite a few seals taking advantage of a convenient sunbathing location and they don't half like to sprawl themselves out. Others were slumbering on top of marker buoys. They must lead the life of Riley, gorging on fish and sleeping. Do they even have any natural predators around these parts? A few stray whales perhaps. The odds of long-term survival seem pretty favourable. The next island we approached was Inchcolm. Probably the best known of the group, Inchcolm lies just off the coast at Aberdour and its abbey (Scotland’s best-preserved group of monastic buildings) is frequented by tourists during the warmer months. Crazily, I have never been across. Again, there are examples of decaying wartime infrastructure (including railways!). I really ought to get myself over there for a nose around.
King Alexander I sheltered here during a storm in 1123 and resolved to build a monastery in thanks for his life being saved. He died before being able to keep his promise. His brother, David I, invited Augustinian canons to establish the island priory. Inchcolm was raised to full abbey status in 1235. The cloister is the most complete in Scotland, and three covered walks survive. The octagonal chapter house dates from the 1200s - a fine warming room sits above it. The dormitory, refectory and other locations also survive. The off-shore setting meant that the religious sites were much less of a target over the centuries for those seeking to destroy such heritage. Today, Inchcolm has a permanent population of two people. They work for Historic Scotland and perform general maintenance duties, as well as running the visitor centre. Our boat made a circuit of the island and docked at the harbour to allow passengers to get on and off. We hadn't paid for this privilege but it has been filed away as a potential future expedition. Just off the main island is a large rock called Swallow Craig which has recently been re-christened as "Inch Gnome" - due to the presence of the little colourful men peering out between the cracks. The first china figures are said to have found there way across around 2010 and their numbers have since multiplied. We sailed back to the Forth Bridge and onwards to the new kids on the block - the Forth Road Bridge (opened 1964) and the more recent Queensferry Crossing, which carried its first traffic in 2017. The boat trip featured an audio commentary that gave further details of the engineering. There used to be a saying about having to pay to get in and out of the Kingdom of Fife, no doubt referencing the tolls levied on the Forth and Tay road bridges. They were abolished in 2008 and had latterly been applied in the Fife-bound direction only. We would always use the free Kincardine Bridge when driving over to places like Falkirk and Linlithgow. It now seems like a long time ago when you had to keep some spare change in the car for the bridge toll. Do we have a supply of coins for anything these days? A pound for the shopping trolley deposit, maybe some cash for parking machines. Not much else come to think of it. As we entered the 21st century, it became increasingly obvious the Forth Road Bridge could not go on indefinitely. It was carrying volumes of traffic way in excess of what it was originally designed for. Work started on the Queensferry Crossing and it enjoys full motorway status, while the old bridge is now used as a public transport corridor.
With its shielded carriageways, the new bridge was supposed to signal an end to the days of adverse weather enforcing closure due to high winds. However, an unforeseen problem has emerged during winter. Chunks of ice falling from the cable-stay design on to the road below. This has resulted in the Queensferry standing silent several days a year. A tunnel was considered at the outset but rejected on the grounds of cost. An example of short-term thinking perhaps? After disembarking, we decamped to the Hawes Inn, which always has a couple of real ales on tap. South Queensferry itself makes for a nice afternoon out, with amazing views of Forth Bridge, arty little shops and several options for food and drink. After some 800 years of continuous service, the ferry across the firth was rendered obsolete the day the road bridge opened. It had previously been seriously threatened by the coming of the train but gradually fought back to win new business by taking motor vehicles back and forth (no pun intended). Eventually this arrangement was no longer sustainable and a solution was required. From ancient monastic times to modern 21st century travel, the Firth of Forth continues to adapt to serve the communities on either side.
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