Monday September 21st 2026
View from the top of the Forth Bridge (all photo's taken by Joe Gilhooley LRPS)
This View has been written by Joe Gilhooley LRPS Award winning and Licentaite of The Royal Photographic Society from Loanhead
For the second year in a row, I went to the top of the Forth Bridge on Friday, September 18.
It was again magical. A wow experience and breathtaking views.
Barnardo’s Charity runs its “View from the Bridge” experience each September, over three days.
View from the top
Tickets go on sale in mid-June and the 900 places go so quickly. People from all over the world book holidays in Scotland to coincide with the Bridge Experience.
I got three places and went with two retired friends, Lorna Brown and James Dunn.
Groups of 14, at set times over the three days, get a talk and slideshow on the history of the bridge. Very interesting.
Then there is a safety briefing, followed by a hard hat and hi-vis vest.
A hoist lift takes the group to the top of the bridge. We got about 15 minutes to walk about the top of the bridge on a very safe walkway. Maybe 30 metres long and six metres wide.
I took many photos.
It was nice that Barnardo’s used some of my 2025 images in the 2026 publicity.
All the money raised from the 900 ticket sales goes to Barnardo’s. It has run for many years.
The whole operation is run by Barnardo’s volunteers, backed by Network Rail employees.
Joe (on the right) alongside his two friends Lorna Brown and James Dunn
They are so nice with everyone. Some people are apprehensive about going so high.
Here are 6 images I captured from my camera.
It was interesting that, out of the 14 people in our group, only myself and my 82-year-old friend were using cameras. A few others used mobile phones.
Some just took in the experience. One had just binoculars.
Phones take such good photos these days.
Camera: Canon 1DX Mark II
Lens: Canon 24-105
All equipment used at the top of the bridge was required to be attached to you. I used a neck strap.
