High Street

South Queensferry sometimes gets called Ice-Creams Ferry because it has so many great ice cream shops. Look around you to find LouLou’s and The Little Parlour nearby, with The Little Bakery and Railbridge Bistro waiting further along the Trail.

Look out for unusual pavement above the shops across the road on East Terrace. Due to a shortage of building land between the high ground and the shore, the front doors of the houses open to pavement above street level. The pavement formed the roof of the cellars where boats were stored and now boasts some lovely independent shops.

Browse the boutiques, gift stores and galleries amongst the cafes, pubs and restaurants. 

As you stroll along the High Street, you’ll see different periods of buildings including the Baronial Clydesdale Bank at 35 High Street, and the Rosebery Memorial Hall built in the Scots Renaissance style in 1894. The former Council offices and museum at 53 High Street form an interesting block of white rough-cast walls with some Arts and Crafts features.

The Queensferry Museum is beside the Forth Bridges Trail Sign. The building has an interesting history – it was built c1880 as the Viewforth Temperance Hotel and later used as the Norwegian Naval Command during part of the Second World War.

Sitting up on the first floor (sorry, there isn’t a lift) you will find a charming local museum with a great view out over to the Forth Bridge. Don’t forget to say hello to Frank – the Ferry Fair Burryman costume!

Look over the road to Black Castle, Queensferry’s oldest building. Built in 1626 by Mariner William Lowrie, the house is linked to the witch hunts of the 1640s. Marion Little, William’s sister-in-law, admitted to paying a witch to cast a spell to create a storm to sink William’s ship. Her husband, James, was so appalled that he paid for Marion and the witch to be burnt at the stake in Ferrymuir. In later years, he ordered his sister Janet to be burnt at the stake for witchcraft. James was eventually left bankrupt, and some believe it may have been a ploy by local witch hunter Rev’d Ephraim Melville to take down the family so he could get his hands on Black Castle.