It was known as Bodotria in Roman times and was referred to as Βοδερία in Ptolemy's Geography. In the Norsesagas it was known as the Myrkvifiörd.[4] An early Welsh name is Merin Iodeo, or the 'sea of Iudeu'.[5]
The Romans reportedly made a bridge of around 900 boats, probably at South Queensferry.[8] The inner firth, located between the Kincardine and Forth bridges, has lost about half of its former intertidal area as a result of land reclamation, partly for agriculture, but mainly for industry and the large ash lagoons built to deposit spoil from the coal-fired Longannet Power Station near Kincardine. Historic villages line the Fife shoreline; Limekilns, Charlestown and Culross, established in the 6th century, where Saint Kentigern was born.
The youngest person to swim across the Firth of Forth was 13-year-old Joseph Feeney, who accomplished the feat in 1933.[10] In October 1936, the Kincardine Bridge opened.[11]
On 4 September 1964, the Forth Road Bridge opened.[12] From 1964 to 1982, a tunnel existed under the Firth of Forth, dug by coal miners to link the Kinneil colliery on the south side of the Forth with the Valleyfield colliery on the north side. This is shown in the 1968 educational film Forth – Powerhouse for Industry.[13] The shafts leading into the tunnel were filled and capped with concrete when the tunnel was closed, and it is believed to have filled with water or collapsed in places.[14]
In January 1987, the first Loony Dook event took place and which now takes place annually, during which individuals dive or wade into the Forth on New Years Day.[15][16]
Two of the three bridges across the Firth, viewed from Dalmeny, Photo taken before construction began on the Queensferry Crossing.
On 27 February 2001, a Shor 360 operated by the Scottish airline Loganair operating as Flight 670A ditched into the Firth of Forth after both of the plane's engines torque went to zero. After a mayday call was initiated the flight went into the water, all happening within the flight's phase of climbing to standard altitude. The only 2 occupants aboard - the captain and first officer, died in the accident. The crash was due to a lack of an established procedure for the flight crew to add engine air intake covers in adverse, windy, weather conditions. [17]
In July 2007, a hovercraft passenger service completed a two-week trial between Portobello, Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy, Fife. The trial of the service (marketed as "Forthfast") was hailed as a major operational success, with an average passenger load of 85 per cent.[18] It was estimated the service would decrease congestion for commuters on the Forth road and rail bridges by carrying about 870,000 passengers each year.[19] Despite its initial success, the project was cancelled in December 2011.[20]
In 2008, a controversial bid to allow oil transfer between ships in the firth was refused by Forth Ports. SPT Marine Services had asked permission to transfer 7.8million tonnes of crude oil per year between tankers, but the proposals were met with determined opposition from conservation groups.[21] In November 2008, construction of the Clackmannanshire Bridge was completed and it opened to traffic.[22]
In 2011, construction of the Queensferry Crossing began and the bridge was formally opened on 4 September 2017.[23]
The Forth was historically home to a large native population of European Oysters.[27] However, by the 1900s these had been fished to extinction in the Forth.[27] A project to introduce some 30,000 oysters back in the forth has been successful at re-establishing the population in the 21st century.[27][28]
↑ Field, John (1980). Place Names of Great Britain and Ireland. London: David & Charles. p.74.
↑ Anderson, Joseph; Hjaltalín, Jón A.; Goudie, Gilbert (3 January 1873). The Orkneyinga saga. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas. Retrieved 3 January 2018– via Internet Archive.
↑ Fraser, James E. (2009). From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p.171.
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