Spanning a whopping 2467 metres, and weighing in at 51 thousand tonnes, the Forth Bridge is one of Scotland’s most iconic landmarks. When it opened in 1890 it was the first major structure in Britain to be built using steel. It’s so huge that ‘Painting the Forth Bridge’ has become a colloquial expression to refer to a task that never ends. But a bridge this size doesn’t just appear out of thin air – it took around seven years to build, and 73 lives were lost during its construction.
“Please write me a sonnet on the subject of the Forth Bridge.” This is one of the challenges put to the computer in Alan Turing’s eponymous Turing Test. Needless to say, the computer refuses to even make an attempt, but this shows just how important a symbol the bridge has become in British culture.
This design shows the Forth Bridge from above, a train steaming over its tracks as a ship cruises beneath it. Go on – celebrate a Scottish icon with this striking tea towel!
