Nostalgia: View from the bridge

IT has recently been awarded World Heritage Site status, ranking it alongside international landmarks such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.

The harbour at South Queensferry with the Forth Bridge in the background in May 1971. Picture: TSPL

And this weekend the wonders of the Forth Bridge will be celebrated once again as its 125th birthday is marked.

The Forth Bridges Festival has an action-packed programme, with a family fun weekend promising entertainment to people of all ages from West Lothian, Fife, Edinburgh and beyond.

The two-day event includes an afternoon tea party and celebratory Forth Bridge Party, as well as free family fun in the Hawes car park featuring a giant helter skelter and kids’ tea cup ride, face painting, giant draughts and crazy golf.

Filming the Forth Bridge scenes for the 1959 version of the film The Thirty-Nine Steps (aka The 39 Steps). Picture: TSPL

Malcolm Brown, of the Business Improvement District, whose team put together the programme of events marking the special anniversary of the bridge, said: “The Forth Bridge and those who live, work and trade around it have created a lasting legacy of which we should all be proud.”

And the bridge certainly has created a lasting – and varied – legacy.

In September 1958 it became a movie set when scenes for the 1959 version of The Thirty-Nine Steps were filmed there.

Before the days of the Forth Road Bridge, commuters travelling by car had to get the ferry across the Forth. This picture taken in November 1956 shows the long queue of cars waiting to board the ferry, beside the Forth Bridge.

A magnificent structure, the bridge has always been a popular location for tourists, a reflective spot to go and admire the views like this woman was photographed doing in May 1971.