Inchkeith Island

Inchkeith Island is a small uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth. It is a mile (1.5km) long and has an area of 56.6 acres (22.9 ha), at its highest point is 190 feet (60m) above the waters of the Firth. It is two miles (3km) south of the town of Kinghorn in Fife.

The Island is named for Robert de Keith who was granted the Island, in 1010 by Malcolm II, King of Scotland, following Robert de Keith’s successes in defending Scotland against the marauding Danes.

It is believed that at one time Inchkeith was the seat of Pictish Kings and a stronghold for early Christians in Scotland.

Inchkeith Island has been occupied by a number of foreign powers including the French who knew the island as L’Isle de Chevaux (The island of Horses) and the English who started the building of a fort on the island as a base from which launch attacks against Scotland. The fort was completed by Mary of Guise with French support following the expulsion of the English in 1549.

The island has been a refuge for Edinburgh plague victims and from the completion of the fort until the end of WWII as a military base as it was ideally located to prevent enemy ships entering the Firth of Forth.

During WWI an WWII the defences on the island centred on the fort became known as ‘Firth Fort’ an integrated defensive structure and at peak the Fort had a complement of 900 men.

Today (2022) the parts of the fort that remain are a Scheduled ancient monument and all over the island are fragments of ruined military installations.

When the military use of the Inchkeith ended in the mid-1950’s ownership passed to the Northern Lighthouse Board but following the automation of the Lighthouse in 1986 it was sold to Sir Tom Farmer.

Cal Flyn in his book ‘Islands of Abandonment’ (ISBN: 978-0-00-832980-8) relates his visit to Inchkeith in the introduction, noting the rewilding that has taken place since the island was abandoned.