It’s a pretty easy metaphor to say we’re all on a bridge confined to a certain course until we get to the other side. So with that we’ll venture forth to a place with some engineering marvels. The Firth of Forth is an inlet from the North Sea upon which the Scottish capitol of Edinburgh sits. The Edinburgh castle sits high on a volcanic crag overlooking the city, and the oldest building in the castle grounds is St. Margaret chapel built in the 11th century.
St. Margaret Chapel, Edinburgh castle
Margaret, wife of King Malcolm, would regularly cross the firth by ferry to get to the pilgrimage site in St. Andrews in Fife. This narrowest crossing of the Firth of Forth is still known as Queensferry. Jumping forward eight centuries to the Industrial Revolution, train travel expanded across the United Kingdom, and steel production helped expand building possibilities. In 1882, construction began on a rail bridge across the Firth of Forth, and the first major steel bridge was built. The bridge is still the second longest cantilever bridge in the world and continues to ferry trains across the forth. In 2015, it received UNESCO’s designation as a site of universal historical and architectural value. The image below shows the village of Queensferry and the bridge.
Forth Rail Bridge above Queensferry
Jumping forward to the 20th century, a ferry was still used for passengers and road vehicles, so construction on a suspension bridge began. In 1964 Queen Elizabeth opened the longest suspension bridge outside the United States. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any images of the suspension cables. But I did have the great pleasure of seeing these structures with my son Joe a bridge engineer! He was quite impressed with the steel under the bridge deck as well, so I did get an image of that. In the background is the final bridge I’ll write about.
Below the Forth Road Bridge
And opened just 2 1/2 years ago is the Queensferry Crossing Bridge. At 1.7 miles, it is the world’s longest three tower, cable stay bridge. Our hotel was next to this elegant bridge and we had a great view of three century’s of engineering marvels.
Queensferry Crossing