Port Edgar Marina

While Port Edgar Marina is now a lively destination for shopping, good food and brisk walks, in previous years it played an important role in the military history of South Queensferry.

The name Port Edgar dates right back to 1068. It comes from the arrival of King Edgar Aetheling who fled the English Normans to seek refuge at the court of Malcolm III. He arrived with his sister, Princess Margaret, who later established the Queensferry Crossing.

In1810 a pier was constructed, and Port Edgar began operating as a fishing and ferry harbour.

In 1869, a railhead was built at Port Edgar which included the power to construct and operate a direct rail/ferry crossing to and from North Queensferry.

In 1890 the Forth Bridge was opened. This had the immediate effect of making the rail/ferry crossing redundant.

In 1916, the port was acquired by The Admiralty and, under the name HMS Columbine, established a base for destroyers. The site closed in 1928, and the buildings were used as a holiday camp for unemployed families from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Port Edgar sprang back into military life in 1938. The former barracks were made into a 200-bed hospital seeing an average of 4,000 admissions a year during the war years.

By 1939, Port Edgar was known as HMS Lochinvar and was used by The Royal Navy as a facility for minesweeping. In 1943, a combined operations training centre was established to prepare landing craft and their crews for D-Day

After the war, the site continued as a minesweeping training centre.
In 1978 Port Edgar was acquired by the former Lothian Regional Council which developed the site into a marina and sailing school

Nowadays, Port Edgar is a great place to view the bridges and watch the boats and wildlife. When the Queensferry Crossing was being built, Port Edgar was a great place to watch its progress!