Geography
Furthest east is the Isle of May, off the coast of Fife south of Crail. To the south in the outer Firth there is a group of islands off East Lothian near North Berwick and Gullane; from east to west they are the Bass Rock (also known simply as "The Bass"), Craigleith, The Lamb, Fidra and Eyebroughy. A second group lie in the inner Firth of Forth. Inchkeith and Inchcolm are off Kinghorn and Aberdour on the north shore, whilst Inchmickery, Cramond Island, and Inchgarvie are nearer to Edinburgh and South Queensferry on the south shore. Alloa Inch and Tullibody Inch are furthest west in the estuarine waters of the River Forth.
Only one of these islands, Inchcolm, has a resident population at present, although there have been monasteries, hermitages, lighthouses and fortifications on most of them in the past. In the late 19th century the Isle of May had a population of over 20. Many of the island names have the first element, "Inch-" (from Innis, the Gaelic word for "island").
Because of their proximity to Edinburgh, smaller towns such as Dalgety Bay and Kirkcaldy, and the Forth Bridges, the islands form a well-known part of the scenery of the Firth for many thousands of people.
Read more about this topic: Islands Of The Forth
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