QUEENSFERRY, an attractive and historic town on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, stands between the two spectacular bridges that span the Forth. Both structures are among the largest bridges in the world.

Forth Rail Bridge

The Forth Railway Bridge, opened in March 1890, was eight years in the building and contains almost 54,000 tons of steel. At the time it was the biggest bridge in the world and the sheer scale of its cantilever design immediately made it the engineering wonder of the age. When Sir William Arrol, the engineer who built it, was asked how long it would last, he replied: 'For ever - if you look after it.' For that reason, painters have been continuously at work on the bridge ever since: when they reach the end, it is time to begin over again. A special paint was created for the Forth Bridge by a Leith firm, which has supplied it since 1890.

The Forth Road Bridge, which opened in September 1964, is a suspension bridge and offers an interesting architectural contrast with its more massive neighbour. It is one-and-a-half miles long - slightly shorter than the rail bridge. The main towers are 500 ft high, and the central span between the towers is 3,300 ft long.

Queensferry and the Forth Road Bridge

Both bridges emphasise the historical importance of the Forth crossing: the opening of the Forth Road Bridge finally brought to an end a ferry service that could be traced back 800 years.

The Forth crossing came to prominence in the reign of Malcolm III, known as Malcolm Canmore, whose court was at Dunfermline in Fife and who required a ferry regularly to travel to and from Edinburgh. His Queen, Margaret, a Saxon princess, was a saintly woman who is credited with a civilising influence on the rough Scottish court. She performed many good works among the people, who revered her. It is Margaret who is commemorated in the name of Queensferry, and her likeness appears on the burgh's coat-of-arms.

The Queensferry Museum, which is housed in the Burgh Chambers, has exhibits reflecting the life and work of Queensferry down the centuries, including its local industries and crafts. One of the most unusual items in the museum is a life-size model of the 'Burry Man', a weird figure who represents a tradition far older than anything else the visitor will encounter in Queensferry. The Burry Man appears in the streets of Queensferry once a year, during the annual Ferry Fair in August. He is clothed from head to foot in a special suit, to which burrs have been attached by the hundred (burrs are the spiky seedcases of the burdock plant). The custom is so old that no one knows its origin or purpose, but it is thought to relate to a pagan ritual invoking good fortune for the community - perhaps for a good harvest. The whole town turns out to watch the Burry Man's progress through the town.

During the summer there are regular sailings in the Maid of the Forth to Inchcolm Island, departing from Hawes Pier. Inch-colm has a twelfth-century Augustinian abbey, now under the care of a resident custodian. Part of the island is a bird sanctuary, and the waters surrounding it abound with grey seals. There are also evening cruises on the Forth, with a shipboard jazz band, to view the spectacularly floodlit Forth Bridge.

Hawes Inn

Opposite the Hawes Pier is the historic Hawes Inn, a former coaching inn described in Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Antiquary. The inn also intrigued Robert Louis Stevenson, who featured it in his novel, Kidnapped.

Dalmeny House

There are two stately homes in the vicinity that can be visited. Dalmeny House, the home of the 7th Earl and Countess of Rosebery, was designed in 1815, and the architectural interest ranges from the Gothic splendour of the hammer-beamed hall to fan-vaulted corridors and the classical design of the main rooms. Within the house is a splendid array of paintings, furniture, tapestries, porcelain and other works of art from the Rosebery and Rothschild collections. The Napoleon Room contains paintings of the emperor, furniture used by him, and the Duke of Wellington's campaign chair.

The other stately home in the neighbourhood is Hopetoun House, the home of the 4th Marquess of Linlithgow. It has been described as Scotland's greatest Adam mansion. Set in a hundred acres of parkland, Hopetoun House has been the home of the Hope family ever since it was built in the early eighteenth century. Much of the original furniture and hangings made for these rooms survive today, and the family's art collection includes many works by famous painters. In the grounds there is a nature trail, herds of fallow deer and red deer, and a flock of rare St Kilda sheep (which are black and have four horns). There is a very pleasant walk of four-and-a-half miles through the Dalmeny Estate, with views of the Firth of Forth, between Queensferry and Cramond. At the Cramond end, there is a ferry across the River Almond (daily except Friday).

Cramond

Cramond is an attractive suburb of Edinburgh, celebrated for its community of whitewashed houses situated on a slope leading down to the River Almond.

Cramond has a significant place in the history of the area, for this was the spot where the Romans, in the second century ad, established a port from which to supply their garrisons on this most northern frontier of the Empire. The foundations of their fort are still to be seen in the tree-shaded grounds of Cramond Parish Church; and some 20 years ago, the substantial remains of a Roman official's mansion were uncovered by chance in the middle of the village during excavations for a carpark.

Another of Edinburgh's fine municipal golf courses is a short distance away at Silverknowes, and the municipal caravan and camping park is situated in the same area. The caravan park is beautifully situated in parkland overlooking the Firth of Forth and has excellent amenities.

Lauriston Castle, standing in pleasant grounds off Cramond Road South, has an interesting history and is well worth a visit. Its last owner, Mr William Reid, was a cabinetmaker and collector, and he and his wife bequeathed the property and its contents to the nation. Since the death of Mrs Reid in 1926, Lauriston Castle has been administered by the City of Edinburgh under trust.

To tour the castle is to step back in time, for a condition of the Reid bequest was that the property should be maintained much as it was in their lifetime. This is a country mansion redolent of the Edwardian era, beautifully furnished, and possessing that air of tranquillity and order essential to gracious living. This atmosphere extends to the grounds, with their trim lawns and mature trees, overlooking the waters of the Forth.

Lauriston Castle has had more than one famous owner. The oldest part is the tower house at the south-west corner, built about 1590 by Sir Archibald Napier, who was the father of the even more celebrated mathematician and inventor of logarithms (for more about him, see Napier University).

A later owner was John Law (1671-1729), who emigrated to France and made his career there so successfully that he was appointed what would be termed today chancellor of the exchequer. He is credited with having introduced paper money to France. Alas, the ambitious Scot was subsequently brought to financial ruin by his business interests.

The extension to the original sixteenth-century tower was built in 1827 by Thomas Allan, banker and newspaper proprietor; this addition, in the Jacobean style, is by William Burn. A library was added later in the same century. Lauriston Castle was acquired by Mr and Mrs Reid in 1902.

Another interesting open space in this vicinity is Cammo Estate, which is administered by the City of Edinburgh as a wilderness park. Conducted walks are organised periodically to study the local flora and fauna.

The Barnton area is also the home of two of Edinburgh's oldest and most distinguished golf clubs, the Royal Burgess and the Bruntsfield. Both clubs were founded in the eighteenth century, and both began their life on the historic Bruntsfield Links on the other side of Edinburgh. In the 1870's both clubs moved to Musselburgh and remained there for two decades before settling in their present homes at Barnton - the Royal Burgess in 1894 and the Bruntsfield one year later.

In the open country to the west is Edinburgh International Airport, conveniently placed only eight miles from the city centre. A regular bus service is available from Waverley Bridge.