Bridges to the Kingdom

Fife is such an amazing destination.  And with all that water surrounding us, they’ve had to build 7, yes 7, bridges to get everyone over to the kingdom.

The most iconic are the 3 bridges to the kingdom which tower side by side over the Firth of Forth from South Queensferry. (That’s near a place you may have heard of called Edinburgh).  

Ariel view of the three bridges over the Forth - Queensferry Crossing, Forth Road Bridge, and Forth (rail) Bridge
The 3 bridges over the Forth to Fife

The most recent is the Queensferry Crossing, the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world.  It was amazing watching the bridge come together over the years. And we were so excited to be two of the 50,000 people who were allowed to walk across the bridge in 2017, just before it opened for traffic.

Queensferry Crossing
The Queensferry Crossing

Although the Queensferry Crossing was originally built as a replacement for the Forth Road Bridge the 1964 bridge is still operational and carries busses and taxis over the Forth.

And the iconic symbol of Fife is the Forth Bridge, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The rail bridge to the Kingdom of Fife was the world’s first major steel structure. It opened in 1890 and has been transporting rail travellers to and from Fife ever since. 

The iconic Forth (rail) Bridge

Then there are the two bridges over the Tay. The Tay Road Bridge opened in 1964, is 2250m log and crosses the estuary of the river Tay between Dundee and Newport-on-Tay.  The Tay rail bridge is the second rail bridge over the Tay. It was built in 1887 and emerged from the terrible Tay Bridge Disaster of 1879.   

Tay Railway Bridge

Then to round off the set,  the two bridges further west towards Stirling.  The Kincardine Bridge, opened in 1936, with a turning section to accommodate cargo ships delivering coal, oil and timber to the port of Alloa.  And bridge No.7 is the Clackmannanshire bridge which opened in 2008. The Clacks bridge is the least iconic of all the bridges – a functional concrete structure, but you do get a great view up the Firth of Forth towards the Wallace Monument in the distance.  

There was a bit of a bun fight when naming this bridge.  Technically it hits land in Fife, then the road passes through Clackmannanshire briefly.  But since Clackmannanshire didnae have a bridge of their own Fife Council kindly let them name it so people know where Clackmannanshire actually is 😇 😉.