Islands Of The Forth
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Islands Of The Forth
The Islands of the Forth are a group of small islands located in the Firth of Forth and in the estuary of the River Forth on the east coast of Scotland. Most of the group lie in the open waters of the firth, between the Lothians and Fife, with the majority to the east of the city of Edinburgh. Two islands lie further west in the river estuary. The islands have a varied geology and history; over the centuries, several have had both ecclesiastical connections and a history of involvement in military occupations. Various lighthouses and other aids to navigation have been erected on the islands and skerries — one of these dates to the 17th century. But only one of the islands still has year-round human inhabitants. The area has diverse bird and sea life. The scientific name for the northern gannet was chosen in recognition of this bird's connection with the Bass Rock. There are only a few islands off the coast of eastern Scotland, and most of them of any significant size are inc ...
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Crail
Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The name ''Crail'' was recorded in 1148 as ''Cherel'' and in 1153 as ''Karel''. The first element is the Pictish ''*cair'' (c.f. Welsh ''caer'') meaning "fort", though this word seems to have been borrowed into Gaelic. The second element may be either Gaelic ''ail'', "rocks", or more problematically Pictish ''*al''; no certain instance of this word exists in P-Celtic. However, if the generic element were Pictish, then this is likely of the specific. History The site on which the parish church is built appears to have religious associations that pre-date the parish church's foundation in early mediaeval times, as evidenced by an 8th-century cross-slab preserved in the church. The parish church was itself dedicated (in the 13th-century) to the early hol ...
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North Queensferry
North Queensferry is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on the Firth of Forth where the Forth Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge, and the Queensferry Crossing all meet the Fife coast, some from the centre of Edinburgh. It is the southernmost settlement in Fife. The prefix ''North'' serves to distinguish it from South Queensferry, on the opposite shore of the Forth. Both towns derive their name from the ferry service established by Queen Margaret in the 11th century, which continued to operate at the town until 1964, when the Road Bridge was opened. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,076. Toponymy The Scottish Gaelic name "Taobh a Tuath Chas Chaolais" means " heNorthern Side of heSteep Strait". The name "Cas Chaolas" (Steep Strait) is older than the English name "Queensferry" and older than the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of the English name, which is "Port na Banrighinn" (the port of the queen). "Cas Chaolas" can be applied to either North or South ...
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Inchgarvie
Inchgarvie or Inch Garvie is a small, uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth. On the rocks around the island sit four caissons that make up the foundations of the Forth Bridge. Inchgarvie's fortifications pre-date the modern period. In the days when boats were the only way to cross the Firth of Forth, the island was on the main route between North Queensferry in Fife and South Queensferry in Lothian. This made it strategically important. Although now uninhabited, Inchgarvie has been inhabited throughout various periods of history. The first recorded time was in the late 15th century. Like nearby Inchmickery, its profile and colour makes it look like a small warship from a distance. It was armed with coast defence guns from 1901 until 1906, and again from 1908 until the 1930s. Etymology Inchgarvie's name is Gaelic in origin and means either "rough island" (from ''innis garbh'') or "island of the rough place" (from ''innis gharbhaidh''). An older theory links it to the Scots w ...
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Aberdour
Aberdour (; Scots: , gd, Obar Dobhair) is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh beyond. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,633. The village's winding High Street lies a little inland from the coast. Narrow lanes run off it, providing access to the more hidden parts of the village and the shoreline itself. The village nestles between the bigger coastal towns of Burntisland to the east and Dalgety Bay to the west. The parish of Aberdour takes its name from this village, and had a population of 1,972 at the 2011 Census.Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usual Resident Population, published by National Records of Scotland. Website http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved Apr 2018. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930, Area: Aberdour Etymology Abe ...
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Kinghorn
Kinghorn (; gd, Ceann Gronna) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. According to the 2008 population estimate, the town has a population of 2,930. Known as the place where King Alexander III of Scotland died, it lies on the A921 road and the Fife Coastal Path. Kinghorn railway station is on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Fife Circle railway lines. Kinghorn only has a primary school, so high school pupils must travel by bus to Balwearie High School in Kirkcaldy. The town's lifeboat station is one of Scotland's busiest - regularly getting called out to all sorts of emergencies in the Firth. Currently stationed at Kinghorn is an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, B-836 "Tommy Niven". The civil parish has a population of 4,201 (in 2011). Burntisland was in the past referred to as Little Kinghorn or Wester Kinghorn. Hi ...
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Inchcolm
Inchcolm (from the Scottish Gaelic "Innis Choluim", meaning Columba's Island) is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It was repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was fortified during both World Wars to defend nearby Edinburgh. Inchcolm now attracts visitors to its former Augustine Abbey. Geography Inchcolm lies in the Firth of Forth off the south coast of Fife opposite Braefoot Bay, east of the Forth Bridge, south of Aberdour, Fife, and north of the City of Edinburgh. It is separated from the Fife mainland by a stretch of water known as Mortimer's Deep. The island forms part of the parish of Aberdour, and lies a quarter of a mile from the shore. In the days when people were compelled to cross the Firth of Forth by boat as opposed to bridge, the island was a great deal less isolated, and on the ferry routes between Leith/Lothian and Fife. The island can be broadly divided into three sections: the east, where its military de ...
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Inchkeith
Inchkeith (from the gd, Innis Cheith) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area. Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for use as home for Inchkeith Lighthouse and for military purposes defending the Firth of Forth from attack from shipping, and more recently protecting the upstream Forth Bridge and Rosyth Dockyard. Inchkeith has, by some accounts, been inhabited (intermittently) for almost 1,800 years. Geography, geology and climate The island lies in the midst of the Firth of Forth, midway between Kirkcaldy to the north and Leith to the south. Due to the undulation of the Fife coast it lies substantially closer to Fife rather than Midlothian, the closest settlement being Kinghorn to the north, with Burntisland to the north-west being only slightly more distant. Although most of the island is of volcanic origin, the island's geology is surprisingly varied. A ...
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Eyebroughy
Eyebroughy (or archaically Ibris; NT493859) is a small, rocky islet in the Firth of Forth, 200 m off East Lothian, Scotland. Location Eyebroughy sits off the East Lothian coast, to the north northeast of the village of Gullane and west of North Berwick. It is in the parish of Dirleton and sits opposite the western part of Dirleton's East Links, at low tide it may be possible to walk to the island. It formed part of the estate of Archerfield. Environment It is an RSPB reserve, and the birds breeding on the island include common eider, great cormorant and herring gull, wintering birds include ruddy turnstone and purple sandpiper. The island is formed from an intrusion of trachytes from the lower Carboniferous. Eyebroughy is part of the Firth of Forth Islands Species Protection Area. It has been described as small and very narrow. Shipwrecks Two shipwrecks are noted for Eybroughy. The first was the 94-ton wooden schooner ''Jane'' which was stranded on Eyebroughy, with a car ...
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Fidra
Fidra (archaically Fidrey or Fetheray) is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve. Geography Like the other islands near North Berwick, Fidra is the result of volcanic activity around 335 million years ago. Fidra consists of three sections; a hill at one end with the lighthouse on it; a low-lying section in the middle, effectively an isthmus; and a rocky stack at the other end. History The island's name is believed to be Old Norse in origin, referring to the large number of bird feathers found there. Like the nearby Bass Rock, it has a substantial seabird population, and is now an RSPB reserve. The village of Gullane lies to the south-west, and the nature reserve of Yellowcraig and village of Dirleton, to which parish Fidra belongs,Martine, John (1890) ''Fourteen Parishes of the County of Haddington'', Edinburgh, p.50-51 are to the south. Remotely operated ...
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Lamb (island)
Lamb, sometimes called Lamb Island or The Lamb, is a small uninhabited island measuring approximately , between the islands of Fidra and Craigleith in the Firth of Forth, off the east coast of Scotland. The Lamb is flanked by two "sheep dogs", North and South Dog Islands, which are basically small skerries. Like the other Islands of the Forth off North Berwick, the Lamb is a result of volcanic activity millions of years ago. Access The Lamb can be reached by canoes and small boats from North Berwick, although there are no landing facilities and little to attract visitors when compared to Fidra island or the Bass Rock. Wildlife Following a two-year operation involving 35 visits with canoes and infra-red cameras, a single invasive rat was removed from the island in 2022. Ownership Lamb island was historically part of the Scottish feudal barony of Direlton. The Lamb, along with North and South Dog Islands, was previously owned by Camilo Agasim-Pereira, Baron of Dirleton and ...
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Craigleith
Craigleith ( gd, Creag Lìte) is a small island in the Firth of Forth off North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Creag Lìte'' meaning "rock of Leith". It is at its highest point. Geography and geology Craigleith is part of a chain of four islands near North Berwick, along with Bass Rock, Fidra and the Lamb. Of these, it is the closest to the town's harbour. Like these other nearby islands, Craigleith is a bird colony. Divers often explore the area around the island. Craigleith is a laccolith, a lava dome. (The Lothians are dotted with evidence of ancient volcanic activity, such as the Bass Rock and Arthur's Seat.) Craigleith is made up of essexite, which is popular for making curling stones. History and wildlife Historically, Craigleith was a rabbit warren, where the animals were deliberately bred for food. Rabbits were wiped out by myxomatosis in the 1950s. They were mysteriously re-introduced onto the island in 2008, and some ha ...
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