river Forth

Forth derives from Proto-Celtic *Vo-rit-ia (slow running), yielding Foirthe in Old Gaelic.Field, John:Place Names of Great Britain and Ireland, page 74. London, David & Charles, 1980

The Forth rises in the Trossachs, a mountainous area {{cvt|30|km|mi}} west of Stirling. Ben Lomond's eastern slopes drain into the Duchray Water, which meets with Avondhu River coming from Loch Ard. The confluence of these two streams is the nominal start of the River Forth.{{cite web |title=Interactive Map |url=http://map.sepa.org.uk/rbmp/ |website=RBMP |publisher=SEPA |access-date=8 April 2017 |archive-date=9 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409202014/http://map.sepa.org.uk/rbmp/ |url-status=live }} From there it flows roughly eastward through Aberfoyle, joining with the Kelty Water about 5 km further downstream. It then flows into the flat expanse of the Carse of Stirling, including Flanders Moss. Just west of the M9, it is joined by the River Teith (which itself drains Loch Venachar, Loch Lubnaig, Loch Achray, Loch Katrine, and Loch Voil). The next tributary is the Allan Water, just east of the M9. From there the Forth meanders into the ancient port of Stirling. At Stirling the river widens and becomes tidal.{{cite book |title=The new statistical account of Scotland |date=1845 |publisher=W. Blackwood and Sons |location=Edinburgh and London |page=397 |url=https://archive.org/stream/newstatisticalac08edin#page/396/mode/2up |access-date=8 April 2017}} This is the location of the last (seasonal) ford of the river. From Stirling, the Forth flows east, accepting the Bannock Burn from the south before passing the town of Fallin. It then passes two towns in Clackmannanshire: firstly Cambus (where it is joined by the River Devon), closely followed by Alloa. Upon reaching Airth (on the river's south shore) and Kincardine (on its north shore), the river begins to widen and becomes the Firth of Forth.

The banks have many settlements along them, including Aberfoyle, Gargunnock, Stirling, Fallin, Cambus, Throsk, Alloa, South Alloa, Dunmore, Airth, and Kincardine. Beyond these settlements, the water turns brackish, and is usually considered part of the Firth of Forth.

File:Meander1.jpging Forth viewed from the Wallace Monument. The river flows from right to left, and the former limit of navigation was in the left distance.]]

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Stirling harbour was a busy port, with goods coming into Scotland and being exported to Europe. As a result, Stirling had very close ties with the Hansa towns, with Bruges{{cite web |title=Scotland in Europe |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/europe/intro_europe.shtml |website=BBC History |access-date=8 April 2017 |archive-date=11 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411195316/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/europe/intro_europe.shtml |url-status=live }} in Belgium, and with Veere (known at the time as Campvere){{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=David B. |title=The Stirling merchant gild and life of John Cowane. |date=1919 |publisher=Morris, David B. |location=Stirling |pages=195–210 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510020985415;view=1up;seq=203 |access-date=8 April 2017 |archive-date=29 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929014801/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510020985415;view=1up;seq=203 |url-status=live }} in the Netherlands. After 1707, trade with America became the new focus, and so a lot of trade activity shifted from Stirling in the east to the port of Glasgow in the west. During World Wars I and II, Stirling harbour began thriving again: It became a gateway for importing supplies of tea into Scotland. After the wars, other trade activities slowly returned, but growth was slow because the harbour's owners levied heavy shore duties on shipping, making it less economically attractive to the few agricultural merchants who were based at Stirling. Today, Stirling's harbour has fallen into disuse, but there are plans to redevelop it.

{{main|History of the Forth Crossing}}

File:Alloa From The Air - geograph.org.uk - 1440457.jpg, Tullibody Inch, and Alloa Inch. Beyond that Alloa and Kincardine. The water is known as the Firth of Forth beyond the Clackmannanshire and Kincardine bridges although the transition point is unclear.]]

Upstream from Stirling, the river is rather narrow and can be crossed in numerous places. (Crossing used to be more difficult before the installation of modern drainage works, because the ground was often treacherously marshy near the riverbank.) However, after its confluence with the Teith and Allan, the river becomes wide enough that a substantial bridge is required. At Stirling, there has been a bridge over the river since at least the 13th century, and it was the easternmost road crossing until 1936, when another road crossing was opened at Kincardine. The Clackmannanshire Bridge, just upstream of the Kincardine Bridge, opened on 19 November 2008. A railway bridge, the Alloa Swing Bridge, previously connected Alloa on the northern shore with Throsk on the southern shore. It opened in 1885 and was closed and mostly demolished in 1970: Only the metal piers remain.

Much further downstream, joining North Queensferry and South Queensferry, is another railway bridge, the famous Forth Bridge, which opened in 1890, and the Forth Road Bridge, which opened in 1964. To the west of the Forth Road Bridge is Queensferry Crossing, construction of which began in 2011: It finally opened on 4 September 2017.{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/04/queen-opens-new-forth-crossing-53-years-day-opened-old-road/ |title=Queen opens new Forth crossing 53 years to the day after she opened old road bridge |last=Johnson |first=Simon |date=2017-09-04 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2018-01-22 |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=22 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522133052/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/04/queen-opens-new-forth-crossing-53-years-day-opened-old-road/ |url-status=live }}

There are a total of 24 bridges crossing the River Forth:

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• Manse Road Bridge{{cite web |title=Aberfoyle, Manse Road, Forth Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/128831/aberfoyle-manse-road-forth-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Footbridge near Doon Hill and Fairy Knowe
• Gartmore Forth Bridge{{cite web |title=Gartmore, Forth Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/136946/gartmore-forth-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• A81 Road Bridge
• Disused Railway Viaduct near Gartmore railway station
• Cardross Bridge{{cite web |title=Cardross Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/44625/cardross-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Poldar Bridge{{cite web |title=South Flanders, Poldar Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/45363/south-flanders-poldar-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Bridge of Frew{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Charles |title=Frew would believe history of river crossing |work=Stirling Observer |date=20 November 2019}}
• Gargunnock Bridge{{cite web |title=Gargunnock, Kirk Lane, Gargunnock Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/227556/gargunnock-kirk-lane-gargunnock-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Old Drip Bridge {{cite web |title=Drip Bridge, Old Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/46040/drip-bridge-old-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• New Drip Bridge{{cite web |title=Drip Bridge, New Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/121662/drip-bridge-new-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• M9 Road Bridge{{cite web |title=Old Mills Farm Motorway Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/187107/old-mills-farm-motorway-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Old Mills Farm Footbridge and Pipeline{{cite web |title=Old Mills Farm Footbridge And Pipeline |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/187108/old-mills-farm-footbridge-and-pipeline |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Stirling Old Bridge{{cite web |title=Stirling, Causewayhead, Bridgehaugh Road, Old Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/46195/stirling-causewayhead-bridgehaugh-road-old-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Stirling New Bridge{{cite web |title=Stirling, Causewayhead Road, New Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/121536/stirling-causewayhead-road-new-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Stirling Forth Viaduct{{cite web |title=Network Rail completes £2.7m makeover of Forth Viaduct |url=https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/network-rail-completes-gbp-2-7m-makeover-of-forth-viaduct |website=Network Rail |access-date=8 April 2024|date=21 October 2022}}
• Cambuskenneth Footbridge{{cite web |title=Cambuskenneth Bridge |url=https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst89873.html |website=Gazetteer for Scotland |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• A91 Road Bridge
• Alloa Swing Bridge{{cite web |title=Alloa, Forth Rail Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/80302/alloa-forth-rail-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Clackmannanshire Bridge{{cite news |title=Name chosen for new Forth bridge |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7646508.stm |access-date=8 April 2024 |work=BBC News |date=1 October 2008}}
• Kincardine Bridge{{cite web |title=Kincardine On Forth Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/48119/kincardine-on-forth-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Queensferry Crossing{{cite web |title=Queensferry Crossing |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/320250/queensferry-crossing |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Forth Road Bridge{{cite web |title=Forth Road Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/50549/forth-road-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}
• Forth Bridge{{cite web |title=Forth Bridge |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/50614/forth-bridge |website=CANMORE |access-date=8 April 2024}}

{{div col end}}

{{Main|Islands of the Forth}}

Two islands (known as "inches") lie in the meandering estuarine waters downstream from Stirling: Tullibody Inch, near Cambus, and Alloa Inch, near Alloa. Both islands are fairly small, and are uninhabited.

1. River Forth{{cite web |title=River Forth |url=http://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1350?search_term=stirling&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes |website=Moving Image Archive |publisher=Templar Film Studios |access-date=4 April 2017 |archive-date=4 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404220153/http://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1350?search_term=stirling&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes |url-status=live }} (1956): A silent, 15-minute, black-and-white film that includes scenes of animals being herded through the streets.
2. Britain's Lost Routes with Griff Rhys Jones (2012): Episode 3 explores the difficulties that cattle drovers might have encountered at Frew, shows cows being taken across the Auld Brig, and includes aerial shots.{{cite web |title=Highland Cattle Drovers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxv9s |website=BBC |access-date=10 April 2017 |archive-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809190716/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxv9s |url-status=live }}
3. Sruth gu Sal, Episode 1: A 25-minute look at the Forth River (2 Nov 2009).{{cite web |title=Sruth gu Sal |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b00nrzlr |website=BBC Alba |access-date=7 September 2017 |archive-date=18 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918155620/http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b00nrzlr |url-status=live }}

• 275 kV Forth Crossing
• List of rivers of Scotland
• Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS)
• Shipping Forecast

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{{Commons category|River Forth}}

{{EB1911 poster|Forth}}

{{Attached KML|display=inline}}

• [http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/forthXbill/reports-10/fcbr10-01-01.htm Scottish Parliament: Forth Crossing Bill Committee Report, March 2010]
• [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2009-05-18b.1315.0&s=%22barnett+formula%22+section%3Adebates River Forth Crossing: House of Commons debates 18 May 2009]
• [http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/river-forth British Waterways: River Forth]
• [http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1121.html Gazetteer for Scotland: River Forth]
• [http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-510-533-C SCRAN image: Steam dredger, River forth, late 19th Century]
• [http://www.stirling.gov.uk/index/stirling/historytimeline/castle_town/riverforth.htm Stirling Council: River Forth]
• [http://www.forthports.co.uk/ports/marine/marineInformation/informationChart/ Forth Ports PLC]
• [https://www.riverlevels.uk/forth-craigforth Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA): River level data for River Forth]
• [http://www.forthestuaryforum.co.uk/abouttheforth.html Forth Estuary Forum, a Scottish Charity]
• [http://www.fishforth.co.uk/fdsb Forth District Salmon Fishery Board]
• [http://www.fishforth.co.uk/rfft River Forth Fisheries Trust]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080518034412/http://www.forthbridges.org.uk/ Forth Bridges Visitor Centre Trust]
• [http://fyca.sbmyc.com/Publications/CruisingGuide/cruisingp6.htm FYCA Alloa Swing Bridge]
• [http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1350 RIVER FORTH (1956)] [http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1820 FORTH – POWERHOUSE FOR INDUSTRY (1968)] (archive films about the River Forth from the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive)

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Forth

Forth

Category:Tourist attractions in Stirling (council area)