Kincardine

Kincardine (Gaelic: Cinn Chàrdainn) or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town located on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a Burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous minor port. The townscape retains many good examples of Scottish vernacular buildings from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, although it was greatly altered during the construction of Kincardine Bridge in 1932-36.

Kincardine Bridge runs south from Kincardine. It is the main crossing-point of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Road Bridge and Stirling. Kincardine Bridge used to be a swing bridge and opened to large ships, but this was closed in a final ceremony in 1988. The bridge had seven spans made of steel. There was a large control room at the top of the bridge, this used to be manned to allow the operators to open the bridge to large ships and river traffic.

During the last twenty years the town has suffered increasing congestion as the numbers of vehicles using the bridge has increased. In 2005 this was partially eased by the opening of an eastern bypass connecting the bridge with the A985 Inverkeithing/Forth Road Bridge artery. In 2008 the western section of the town was bypassed with the opening of the Upper Forth Crossing which is officially called the Clackmannanshire Bridge.

Kincardine is also the location of the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan Castle on the outskirts of the town.

External links

• Local information about Kincardine from the Kincardine Local History Group
• Kincardine in Gazetteer for Scotland