Granton Harbour

History

 

Granton Harbour

19th Century

Granton Harbour  was constructed in the 1830s.   It soon became a busy harbour, offering deeper water than Newhaven.  There was a railway connection to Edinburgh, later extended and across the Firth of Forth by ferry to Burntisland.  There were regular sailings to London.

 Engraving  -  Granton Harbour ©

20th Century

Until the mid-20th century the harbour continued to be used by commercial shipping and fishing trawlers, and yachts owned by members of the Royal Forth Yacht Club and the Forth Corinthian Yacht Club.

Several different boats have operated the ferry service across the Firth of Forth, between Granton and Burntisland.  Burntisland is in the 'Kingdom of Fife'.  The Firth of Forth is about five miles wide at this point.

With the opening of the Forth Rail Bridge in 1890 and the Forth Road Bridge in 1964, few people now cross the Firth of Forth by water. 

There have been occasional plans, in recent years, to operate ferries again between Granton and Burntisland, but to date none have materialised other than a catamaran that ran for a couple of summers around 1990.

Western and Eastern Harbours

The photograph above shows Granton Eastern Harbour, with the  Eastern Breakwater running diagonally across the centre of the photo.

The coastline of Fife can be seen in the upper part of the photograph.

Granton Western Harbour in this photograph lies immediately above the Eastern Harbour with the boats, but can hardly be seen. It was once a busy harbour, but is now gradually being reclaimed.  It will form part of the Edinburgh Waterfront development.

 

Granton Harbour
History

Granton Harbour
Photos

Granton
Photos

Edinburgh
Photos

 

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