The Forth Bridge World Heritage Site

The Forth Bridge is a technological man-made wonder and a unique icon of Scotland. It was the first major structure to be built from mild steel which is cost-effective, reliable and still popular today.

Forth Bridge in numbers

• The bridge is 100 metres tall (328 feet) and 2,529 metres long (8,296 feet).
• Around 200 trains cross every day up to 50 mph (80 km/h).
• It was built with 50,000 tonnes of mild steel, with around 6% recycled.
• Around 6,000,000 rivets hold it together.

The history of the Forth Bridge

Learn more about the history of this iconic bridge.

• What you see today is not the original design.
• The Tay Bridge rail disaster in 1879 saw the bridge over the Firth of Tay collapse.
• The creator, Sir Thomas Bouch had just started work on the Forth Bridge.
• New designs were invited – looking for strength and safety to help reassure future passengers.
• Existing bridge was picked for the elegance and rigidity of the cantilever design which used mild steel on an unprecedented scale.
• The men who built the bridge were known as the ‘briggers’.

Timeline

• 1890 - Forth Bridge opened
• 1964 - Forth Road Bridge opened
• 2015 - Forth Bridge given UNESCO World Heritage Site status
• 2017 - Queensferry Crossing opened

Train

Take the train to North Queensferry or Dalmeny, then walk down to the waterfront.

Live times and tickets from Scotrail

Bus

Bus services to and across the Forth Bridges are provided by Stagecoach, Scottish Citylink, First Scotland and Lothian Buses.

Public transport to the Forth Bridges

On foot

Walk or cycle over the Forth Road Bridge using the network of paths.

Maps of walking & cycling at the Forth Bridges