The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
covers much of
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties.
It borders Perthshir ...
in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
's
Central Belt. The
Gaelic name for the upper reach of the river, above
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
, is ''Abhainn Dubh'', meaning "black river". The name for the river below the tidal reach (just past where it is crossed by the M9 motorway) is ''Uisge For''.
Name
''Forth'' derives from
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...
''*Vo-rit-ia'' (slow running), yielding ''
Foirthe'' in Old Gaelic.
Course
The Forth rises in
the Trossachs, a mountainous area west of
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
.
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. 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
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
s into the ancient port of Stirling. At Stirling the river widens and becomes
tidal. 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 Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate ...
.
Settlements on the river
The banks have many settlements along them, including
Aberfoyle,
Gargunnock,
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
,
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.
Port activities

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
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
Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country.
The area of the whole city amoun ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and with
Veere (known at the time as Campvere) in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. 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.
Bridges

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
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
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
North Queensferry is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland, situated on the Firth of Forth, from Edinburgh city centre. Located on the North Queensferry Peninsula, it is the southernmost settlement in Fife.
The town derives its name fro ...
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.
List of bridges
There are a total of 24 bridges crossing the River Forth:
*Manse Road Bridge
*Footbridge near Doon Hill and Fairy Knowe
*Gartmore Forth Bridge
*
A81 Road Bridge
*
Disused Railway Viaduct near
Gartmore railway station
*Cardross Bridge
*Poldar Bridge
*Bridge of Frew
*Gargunnock Bridge
*Old Drip Bridge
*
New Drip Bridge
*
M9 Road Bridge
*Old Mills Farm Footbridge and Pipeline
*
Stirling Old Bridge
*
Stirling New Bridge
*
Stirling Forth Viaduct
*Cambuskenneth Footbridge
*
A91 Road Bridge
*
Alloa Swing Bridge
*
Clackmannanshire Bridge
*
Kincardine Bridge
*
Queensferry Crossing
*
Forth Road Bridge
*
Forth Bridge
Islands
Two islands (known as "inches") lie in the
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
ing
estuarine waters downstream from
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
:
Tullibody Inch, near
Cambus, and
Alloa Inch, near
Alloa. Both islands are fairly small, and are uninhabited.
On film and television
#''River Forth'' (1956): A silent, 15-minute, black-and-white film that includes scenes of animals being herded through the streets.
#''
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.
#''Sruth gu Sal'', Episode 1: A 25-minute look at the Forth River (2 Nov 2009).
See also
*
275 kV Forth Crossing
*
List of rivers of Scotland
*
Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS)
*
Shipping Forecast
References
External links
Scottish Parliament: Forth Crossing Bill Committee Report, March 2010River Forth Crossing: House of Commons debates 18 May 2009British Waterways: River ForthSCRAN image: Steam dredger, River forth, late 19th CenturyForth Ports PLCScottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA): River level data for River ForthForth District Salmon Fishery BoardRiver Forth Fisheries TrustForth Bridges Visitor Centre TrustRIVER FORTH (1956)FORTH – POWERHOUSE FOR INDUSTRY (1968)
(archive films about the River Forth from the National Library of Scotland: Scottish Screen Archive)
{{Authority control
Forth
Forth
Tourist attractions in Stirling (council area)