IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
East Dock, BURNTISLAND, KY3 9DQ

At the instigation of its chief engineer, Thomas Bouch, the North British Railway Company introduced the world's first roll-on, roll-off rail ferry between Granton and Burntisland in 1850. (A similar ferry began operating across the Tay, between Newport and Broughty Ferry, in the following year.) "The Leviathan makes 4 or 5 double trips a day and it can take from 30 to 34 wagons at a time. The time occupied in making the single trip is about 26 minutes and the operation of loading and unloading takes an additional 5, or 8, minutes. (...) During the six months from Feb 1st to July 31st 1860, the number of trips made was 1,546, equal to 8,503 miles and the number of waggons carried was 32,712. (...) The rate for the carriage of minerals and other heavy goods is one shilling per ton. The opening of this work has been the means of introducing into Edinburgh the coal from Fife which before was unknown in this market." -- Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineers, 1861 The ferries were discontinued with the opening of the Tay Bridge in 1877. The ill-fated train lost in the disaster of 1879 left Burntisland at 5.20 pm, reaching the bridge shortly after 7 pm. "TERRIBLE ACCIDENT ON BRIDGE. ONE OR MORE OF HIGH GIRDERS BLOWN DOWN. AM NOT SURE AS TO SAFETY OF LAST TRAIN DOWN FROM EDINBURGH. WILL ADVISE FURTHER AS SOON AS [NEWS] CAN BE OBTAINED." -- Taybridge Stationmaster's telegram to NBR, Portobello. All 75 passengers and crew died. Image

A view from Burntisland across the Forth to Leith. http://www.brand-dd.com/burntisland/docks.html

Small boats moored at the harbour in Burntisland.

"The Eider is distinctive on account of its wedge-shaped bill forming a continuous line with the slope of the forehead. [The adult male] has mainly black underparts and white upper parts, except for the black cap, lime green on the nape and a pinkish flush on the breast. (...) Eiders are almost exclusively coastal, nesting close to the seashore and feeding in inshore waters. They favour both estuaries and rocky shores, diving for invertebrate prey, particularly mussels and other molluscs. The species is common around the coasts of Scotland, northeast England and the northern coast of Ireland." -- Collins Complete Guide To British Birds, 2004

Looking east through the old lock into the now unused docks.

The eastern dock at Burntisland, looking towards the entrance from Outer Harbour and the Firth of Forth. Shortly after the photo was taken, the heavens opened and it was a long way to adequate shelter!

The following extract from a survey of Scotland's seaports by one of Cromwell's officials suggests that there was little trade on this coast to generate customs revenue before the Union. "The next head port [after Alloa] is Brunt Island, lying opposite to Leith, on the north side of the Firth, whose districts reach from Innerkeithen all along the shore of the county of Fife, unto the banks of the River Tay. The trade of these parts inwards, is from Norway, the East country [Baltic], and sometimes from France with wines, and outwards with coal and salt, at all times very small, and worth little. For, although this be the bounds of one of the best and richest counties of Scotland, yet the goddness and riches of the country, arising more from the goodness and fertility of the soil and lands than any traffic, hath made it the residence and seat of many of the gentry of that nation, who have wholly driven out all but their tenants and peasants even to the shore side. There is one collector and five officers constantly attending in this port, and members thereof, which are on the west of Brunt Island, Innerkeithen; on the east Abirdore, Kinghorne, Kircaldy, Disert, Wems, Leven, Ely, St. Minas, Petten-Weym, Ainster, Craill, St. Androes, and South-ferry; all pitiful small towns on the coast, inhabited by sea-men, colliers, salt-makers, and such like people, except St. Androes, which (if I mistake not) is a burgh town." -- Report by Thomas Tucker upon the Settlement of the Revenues of Excise and Customs in Scotland, AD MDCLVI (1656)

Seen from the Binn, a hill to the north of the town.

Links on a giant chain - possibly an anchor chain - at the harbour in Burntisland.