Long Craig (North Queensferry)

Long Craig is a narrow, rocky islet of around three acres in the Firth of Forth, just off North Queensferry in Fife. It lies close to the three great Forth crossings: the Forth Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge and the Queensferry Crossing, and it is one of the closest islands to these famous landmarks, along with Inchgarvie.

Landscape

Long Craig is a low, rocky islet, as its name suggests: “craig” is the Scots and Gaelic word for a rock. It sits in the narrows of the Firth of Forth, where the estuary squeezes between North and South Queensferry, and the tides run strongly. From the islet the view is dominated by the red cantilevers of the Forth Bridge, opened in 1890 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the two road bridges just upstream.

History

The narrows at Queensferry have been a crossing point for nearly a thousand years. The name Queensferry comes from Queen Margaret, wife of King Malcolm III, who founded a ferry here in the 11th century to carry pilgrims to Dunfermline and St Andrews. Ferries crossed the Forth until the Forth Road Bridge opened in 1964. During both world wars, the islands and headlands around the bridges were fortified to protect the Forth Bridge and the naval base at Rosyth.

The Fife Coastal Path runs past, giving superb views of the bridges and the islands.

More about Long Craig

North Queensferry, beside the islet, is home to Deep Sea World, an aquarium built in an old quarry, and to the Carlingnose Point nature reserve, where wildflowers grow on old quarry ground overlooking the Forth. The Fife Coastal Path runs past, giving superb views of the bridges and the islands.

Visiting

There is no landing on Long Craig. It can be seen from the shore at North Queensferry, from the Fife Coastal Path and from boat trips that sail under the Forth Bridge from South Queensferry. You can collect Long Craig as a landing or a sighting in your Island Passport.

Wildlife and area

The waters around the Forth bridges are good for Grey Seal and Harbour Seal, and for seabirds such as Cormorant, Shag, eider and gulls. In winter look out for Goldeneye and Red-throated Diver. Other islands nearby include Inchgarvie, Haystack, Inchcolm and Cramond Island.