The longest river in Scotland is the River Tay. The Firth of Forth is spanned by two of the world's most famous bridges ( see main image ) that of the Forth Rail Bridge - 8,296 ft long by 151 ft high - which was opened in March 1890 and links the two towns of North Queensferry and South Queensferry and the Forth Road Bridge - 8,242 ft long by 145 ft high - which was opened in September 1964 and links the country's capital of Edinburgh with the town of Fife. The River Forth starts life at Loch Ard in the Trossachs National Park and flows for twenty nine miles eastwards towards the North Sea, passing through the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Grangemouth and Leith along the way. Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh, is situated on the River Forth Estuary, the Firth of Forth. The United Kingdom is served by two thousand miles of rivers and canals and the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are served by eight hundred rivers, canals and lakes.Įach of these five countries have their own capital city and like most large cities were built on the banks of a major river. The British Isles are a group of over a thousand islands situated in north west Europe, made up of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, which is divided into the four countries of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.