Park in the carpark of the Queensferry Lodge Corus
Hotel. There is a tourist information centre within the hotel;
there are toilets there. There is also a little exhibition room
with information about the construction of the bridges. There is a
viewing platform in the hotel grounds offering good views of both
bridges.
Follow these directions to the cache:
Go down the steps underneath the dual carriageway, and then up the
steps on the other side all the way to the top. Follow the tarmac
path round to the children's play area. Go across the play area and
you will see a small path leading through the gorse bushes. Once up
on the top of the hill, it's an easy walk to the cache. Failure to
follow the directions will land you in a prickly situation!
Please rehide the cache well so that it cannot be seen, as
youngsters play around this area.
It is 0.17 miles from the hotel carpark to the cache as the crow
flies. It is possible to park 0.10 miles from the cache at N56
00.814 W003 23.981, but this place is difficult to find through a
housing estate maze.
The name North Queensferry derives from a ferry passage which Queen
Margaret established in the 11th century, when she journeyed from
Dunfermline to Edinburgh castle to visit a favourite chapel. The
Forth rail bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin
Donald. It took seven years to build and opened in 1890. It was the
first major structure built of steel and the largest cantilever
bridge in the world. It is the largest 'listed' structure in
Scotland. In hot weather it expands by 7 feet and when it rains,
100 tons are added to its weight. It is held together by 6 and a
half million rivets and is a mile and a half long. 57 people lost
their lives in its construction.
The Forth road bridge is over a mile and a half long, and has
towers 512 feet high. The deck is suspended by 30,000 miles of
wire. It was opened by the Queen on 4th September 1964. On 3 April
2001 the Forth Road Bridge was listed as a category 'A' building,
but only 40 years on from being opened it is now in danger from
corrosion of the suspension cables. It is possible that heavy
vehicles will have to be banned from 2014. In December 2007, the
Scottish Government decided to go ahead with a new Forth road
bridge, just a little to the West of the existing bridge.