Kincardine

This article is about a town in Fife, Scotland. For other uses, see Kincardine (disambiguation).
Kincardine
Scottish Gaelic: Cinn Chàrdainn
Kincardine
 Kincardine shown within Fife
Population 3,035 [1] (2001 census)
Council areaFife
Lieutenancy areaFife
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town ALLOA
Postcode district FK10
Dialling code 01259
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentDunfermline and West Fife
Scottish ParliamentDunfermline
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 56°04′08″N 3°43′08″W / 56.069°N 3.719°W

Kincardine (Gaelic: Cinn Chàrdainn[2]) or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town 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.

The Mercat cross at Kincardine, 2007

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

A map of Kincardine from 1945


References

  1. "Comparative Population Profile: Kincardine Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  2. Iain Mac an Tàilleir. "Placenames" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 28 November 2011.