In our quest to make the most our of our year-long membership to Historic Scotland, we recently journeyed to Inchcholm Abbey, a medieval abbey on a small island in the Firth of Forth. (The Firth of Forth, in addition to being a tongue-twister, is the name of the large fjord which defines the north coast of Edinburgh.)
Ferries to Inchcholm Island depart several times a day from South Queensferry, a picturesque little waterside town which is a 20-minute drive or 15-minute train ride from Edinburgh. South Queensferry is also where the two (soon to be three) iconic bridges cross the firth, and our ferry ride provided some lovely bridge views.
On the boat ride to the island, we enjoyed a pint of ale while listening to the narration which provided some history on the Forth Bridge, the islands, the oil pipeline, and other items of interest. We saw some adorable seals sunning themselves on a couple of the small islands we passed.
The ferry dropped us off on Inchcholm Island for an hour and a half.
There’s the well-preserved abbey, a couple of small beaches, a gift shop, and a couple of walking trails – trails we quickly realized were not particularly accessible.
Much of the island serves as a nesting ground for seagulls, seagulls who would rather peck out your eye than let you get too close to their fluffy little babies. (To be fair – as far as I know they’ve never actually pecked anyone’s eye out. As far as I know.)
The skyline of Edinburgh was visible off in the distance. Scott climbed the claustrophobic staircase of the abbey’s tower for a better view, while I was content to admire things from the ground.
The ferry ride back to South Queensferry offered up more stunning bridge views, and we found ourselves wishing we could be on the boat at sunset. (As the abbey closes at 5:30pm and sunset’s not until 10:00pm these days, that wasn’t quite workable.)
