In Fife on the Firth of the Forth

What a tounge-twister right? Some made up silly phrase without any meaning. We thought so too.

Cutting through Edinburgh is the mighty River Forth. It is a GIANT river. It has it’s own beaches and it’s own tides and when you look at it you will be fooled into thinking it’s the ocean. In Scotland they call the mouth of the river “the firth” of the river, so in many places in Edinburgh you can be looking over the mouth of the River Forth… or the “firth of the forth.”

If that’s not hard enough to say… there is also a town that is riverside called “The Kingdom of Fife.” It’s true- we have been there. So at the right time, in the right place, you can actually utter the phrase “We are in Fife on the firth of the Forth.” Which brings us to today’s post 😉

We spent a lot of time looking at, walking into, and hiking around this mighty River Forth. It is so essential to life here in Edinburgh that it is rare that you can’t either see the Forth or the ocean it dumps into. There are three bridges spanning across the River Forth, connecting towns of North and South Queensferry. The red bridge is for trains, the white bridge is for cars, and the third bridge isn’t finished yet so has giant gaps in it! That one is easy to spot!

The red, train bridge, simply known as “The Forth River Bridge,” is the most vibrant and most iconic. It is the “Golden Gate” of Scotland. It is huge and beautiful and we took a wonderful coastal hike all around it.

The hike takes you from the North Queensferry parking area up onto the coastal path. The coastal path takes you through beautiful patches of yellow scrub bushes and to wonderful views of the bridge and the water. We did a few miles of this path, but it goes on for hundreds if your heart desires.

At times, you can even find some little nooks that you could call “beaches.” The beaches in Scotland are very wet, cold, windy, and seaweed-y, but they are beaches nonetheless.

The hike around North Queensferry and the Forth River Bridge was fabulous. It wasn’t too strenuous and brought you to amazing viewpoints and overlooks!