David’s introduction to Granton ferries

The first ferry from Granton started on 5 September 1844, to Burntisland, shortly after Granton Harbour opened. Granton was one of the few harbours in Fife and the Lothians which could be approached at low water at this time. Granton Harbour became an important link in the main railway route north from Edinburgh, as both Granton and Burntisland had railway stations at or adjacent to the harbours.

From the start three steamers operated the Granton to Burntisland ferry service. These were called ‘Burntisland’, ‘Granton’ and ‘Maid of Leven’. ‘Maid of Leven’ was a Clyde steamer, the other two being built for this service. As well as passengers, the vessels carried horse-drawn carriages and carts, horses, farm animals and various types of small freight such as loose barrels amongst other things. There was a minimum of eight daily crossings in summer and six in winter, each crossing taking up to forty-five minutes.

A further vessel, ‘Forth’, was delivered in 1847. Two other ships, ‘Auld Reekie’ and ‘Thane of Fife’, entered service in 1848. A second-hand vessel, ‘Comet’ joined the fleet in 1849. Saloons were added later to four of the ships, but they were exclusively for the use of first class passengers. ‘Comet’ was sold and the other original vessels were classified as goods boats. In 1869 a new vessel ‘John Stirling’ was ordered. She was forty feet longer than any of the previous vessels. Another new vessel, ‘William Muir’ was launched in 1879, and ‘Express’ and ‘Forth’ were scrapped.

As well as these ferries, the Granton to Burntisland route was also served by train ferries. These vessels had rails on the deck and a system of ramps at each port allowed goods wagons to be run onto the boats and taken off at the other end, avoiding the need to unload the cargoes onto boats to cross the Forth. They were the first roll-on roll-off train ferries in the world, and operated between 1850 and 1890. There is more information about them on the Train Ferries page.

After the opening of the Forth Bridge in 1890, the Granton to Burntisland passenger ferry crossings were reduced to the legal minimum. The ‘William Muir’ was retained for the crossing but all the other vessels were disposed of.

A new ferry pier was built at Burntisland in 1898. The passenger ferry slip at Granton is still in existence.

The ‘William Muir’ was replaced by ‘Snowdrop’, a Wallasey Corporation vessel, which was built in 1910. She was renamed ‘Thane of Fife’ and entered service on the Granton to Burntisland ferry in 1937. The ferry service was suspended in 1940 because of the Second World War, and this service was never re-started.

In 1949 a new Granton to Burntisland ferry service was started, using the ‘Forth Lady’, a small vessel which was used for cruises to Inchcolm, and this carried passengers only. In 1950 a vehicle and passenger service was started using four former landing craft, which were used during the Second World War, but this lasted only until 1952, when the company operating it went bankrupt.

In 1991 a passenger only ferry service was started from Granton to Burntisland, using a catamaran called ‘Spirit of Fife’, a name chosen by local school children. This lasted only until 1993, when the operating company went bankrupt.