Visit North Queensferry Places

Welcome to Visit North Queensferry Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in North Queensferry

  

North Queensferry Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about North Queensferry

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North Queensferry history

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The village takes its name from Saint Margaret of Scotland, the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland, who is said to have established the village to ensure there would be regular ferry crossings across the Firth of Forth for the benefit of pilgrims travelling to St Andrews. Margaret is said to have made her arrival in Scotland here in 1068, and to have regularly used the ferry crossing when travelling between the then capital Dunfermline, and Edinburgh Castle. From around this time, the crossing became known as the Queen’s Ferry. Margaret died in 1093 and made her final journey by ferry to Dunfermline Abbey, where she remains buried. Her son, David I of Scotland, awarded the ferry rights to the abbey. However, it is likely that there was a settlement around the present site of the village long before the time of Margaret. The site of the village, on the narrowest part of the Firth of Forth, with added advantage of the island of Inchgarvie in between, suggests that it would have been the natural point of crossing and a vital link to the north of Scotland for centuries before the Queen’s Ferry was established. North Queensferry over the centuries remained a small community, with a population of probably no more than 600, and it never achieved the status of burgh like many of the nearby settlements. Yet the numbers passing through the village daily were huge. From noblemen to commoners, from Kings to cattle, all had to use the Queen’s Ferry to cross the Forth. It is recorded that Mary, Queen of Scots used the ferry on the day she was transported to Loch Leven Castle where she was imprisoned in 1565. In 1651, during Oliver Cromwell’s campaign against Scottish royalist forces, the decisive engagement known as the Battle of Inverkeithing took place on and around the isthmus between the North Queensferry peninsula and Inverkeithing and Rosyth. The battle gave Cromwell control of Fife and the Firth of Forth. Troops of the New Model Army under Major-General John Lambert crossed the Forth from Leith over several days. They landed at Cruickness, the point to the south of Inverkeithing Inner Bay, and took up position on the Ferry Hills. On 20 July as they moved north across the isthmus they were attacked by the royalist forces under David Leslie. Fighting spread as far as Pitreavie on the far side of Inverkeithing and was said to have been particularly bloody: reputedly the Pinkerton Burn ran red with blood for days and the heaps of the dead resembled stooks in a harvest field. Lambert was victorious and claimed his men had killed 2000 and taken 1,400 prisoners, although these may be exaggerations. It is believed that the destruction of the Chapel of St James by Cromwell’s men took place at this time. In the 18th century, the chapel ground became a cemetery for members of the North Queensferry Sailors’ Society. The Town Pier, the main ferry terminus for many years, was designed by John Rennie and built between 1810 and 1813. The Harbour Light Tower was erected on its current site in 1817; until then, the Signal House was used by boats as an aid to navigation. Ferries berthed both at the Town Pier and at the Battery Pier (now beneath the Forth Bridge). To accommodate the deeper draughts of the new, larger steam-powered ferries, Thomas Telford extended Town Pier in 1828 to its present length. The Railway Pier, on the far side of West Bay, was the terminus of the new Dunfermline-North Queensferry Railway which opened in 1877. The Railway Pier was used as one of the northern ferry terminals from 1877 to 1890, and in 1920 it replaced the old Town Pier. The ferry’s importance diminished during the 19th century, with an alternative ferry crossing operating for a while between Burntisland and Granton. By the 1870s there was an increasing call for a bridge to be built over the Forth. The idea of a bridge across the Forth had been debated frequently in the past, but the depth of the water and the hard whinstone rock base found underneath had discouraged any attempts. Work on a bridge for rail traffic eventually began in 1883, under the supervision of Benjamin Baker and John Fowler. The construction of the bridge would alter life in North Queensferry drastically. At its peak, the construction of the bridge employed over 4,000 men. The Forth Bridge was opened on 4 March 1890, by the then Duke of Rothesay (later to become King Edward VII). North Queensferry railway station opened the same year. The ferry crossing continued however, and with the coming of the motor vehicle in the 20th century, its importance was restored. By 1960, the Queen’s Ferry was handling over two million passengers a year and over 600,000 motor vehicles. Naturally, this number was ever increasing and it soon became apparent that another bridge would be required. The last ever commercial ferry crossing of the Queen’s Ferry left Hawes Pier, South Queensferry on the evening of 3 September 1964, and docked at North Queensferry shortly after. The very next day, Elizabeth II opened the new Forth Road Bridge, and 800 years’ continual use of the Queen’s Ferry were finally brought to a close.

North Queensferry toponymy

Scottish Gaelic name “Taobh a Tuath Chas Chaolais” means “[the] Northern Side of [the] Steep Strait” The name “Cas Chaolas” (Steep Strait) is older than the English name “Queensferry”

North Queensferry landmarks

The oldest inhabited house in the village, at one time the Black Cat Inn, is in Main Street opposite the late Georgian Albert Hotel. The oldest building in North Queensferry is the nearby early 14th century Chapel of St James founded by Robert the Bruce around 1320–23, abandoned after the Reformation.

You can visit North Queensferry places with Walkfo North Queensferry to hear history at North Queensferry’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo North Queensferry has 24 places to visit in our interactive North Queensferry map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout North Queensferry, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at North Queensferry places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to North Queensferry & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 24 audio facts unique to North Queensferry places in an interactive North Queensferry map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit North Queensferry Places Map
24 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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North Queensferry historic spots	North Queensferry tourist destinations	North Queensferry plaques	North Queensferry geographic features
Walkfo North Queensferry tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in North Queensferry

  

Best North Queensferry places to visit

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North Queensferry has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied North Queensferry’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo North Queensferry’s information audio spots:

Donibristle Donibristle was a house and estate in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. It was the scene of the killing of James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray, in 1592. Only the wings of the house remain, within the modern settlement of Dalgety Bay.

Rosyth Castle Rosyth Castle is a fifteenth-century ruined tower house on the perimeter of Rosyth Naval Dockyard, Fife, Scotland. It originally stood on a small island in the Firth of Forth accessible only at low tide. The original tower house (58 feet high) was enlarged and extended in the 16th and early 17th centuries. It was occupied in 1651 by Oliver Cromwell’s army after the Battle of Inverkeithing.

Goliath (Rosyth) Goliath is a crane in Rosyth Dockyard, Scotland, with a lift capacity of 1,000 tonnes. The crane is the largest in Britain.

Dalmeny Dalmeny is 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of South Queensferry and 8 miles (13 km) west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the traditional boundaries of West Lothian, and falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.

Deep Sea World Deep Sea World is located in North Queensferry, in Fife, Scotland. It is host to a collection of large sand tiger sharks, also known as ragged toothed sharks.

Visit North Queensferry plaques