Albert Hotel

The Albert Hotel pre-dates the Forth Bridge.

Originally Mitchell’s Inn, it was renamed in 1842 in honour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s arrival at the Town Pier en route to Balmoral. Arriving on the steamer Blair Adam (named after the home of William Adam - a Trustee of the passage), the Queen and Consort were greeted by decorated boats and crowds lining the route.

With its painted façade and gable, the hotel is as much a feature of the village as the bridge. Back in 20o3, the late Scottish author, Iain Banks, wrote fondly in The Guardian of the hotel saying “I've lived in Fife for 20 years - from zero to the age of nine and for the past 11 years - and I've been going to the Albert Hotel since I was a nipper. It's perched on the rocks in a village called North Queensferry on the south coast of Fife. From the window there are wonderful views of the Forth Bridge, which looms right outside.”

Sadly, the hotel closed in 2017 and is now boarded up. Much missed by locals, there are moves afoot by a local campaign group "Save The Albert" to use Scotland’s land reform laws to take it back into community control and restore it as a pub and hotel. Watch this space!