Submarine Defence at Cramond Island- Edinburgh Scotland

Posted (updated ) by in Bunkers, Fortresses & Strongpoints, Submarines & Ships | 5 Comments
Submarine defence and Causeway
Submarine defence and Causeway

Cramond Island

Near the town of Cramond in Scotland is the tidal Cramond island. The island isn’t too big, it is about 600 meters long and maybe half as wide. During World War Two the entrance towards the river Almond was protected with a submarine defense wall and gun emplacements on the island.

Cramond Island submarine defence 1,6 km long
Cramond Island submarine defence 1,6 km long
Concrete Pylons at Cramond Island
Concrete Pylons at Cramond Island
Concrete pylon at the Cramond Causeway
Concrete pylon at the Cramond Causeway
Gun and Searchlight emplacement ont he south of Cramond Island
Gun and Searchlight emplacement on the south of Cramond Island

All islands near Edinburg were fortified like Cramond Island against ships and submarines. On the island are multiple gun emplacements, for a 75mm gun in the south and a range of calibres in the north, searchlight building to illuminate targets for the guns. There are ammunition storages, shelters and two engine rooms that powered all the military installations on Cramond Island. There used to be barracks as well but they collapsed over time.  These Barracks housed a garrison which was stationed at the island. The submarine wall has a causeway to it, it connects Cramond Island to the mainland, to the village of Cramond and has a length of 1,6 kilometres.

Buildings at the North end of Cramond Island
Buildings at the North end of Cramond Island
Inside the Northern buildings
Inside the Northern buildings
Fortified window at Cramond Island
Fortified window at Cramond Island
Gun emplacement at the northern end of Cramond Island
Gun emplacement at the northern end of Cramond Island
Submarine defence on Cramond Island
Submarine defence on Cramond Island

A mile out in the sea you can see Inchmickery Island which is totally covered with military buildings.

The Fortified Island of Inchmickery seen from Cramond Island
The Fortified Island of Inchmickery seen from Cramond Island

Visit

Cramond Island is free to visit and always open. The only restriction is the sea and its tide. Make sure you have enough time left when you visit the island with low tide, you do not want to be stuck on the island when high tide is coming up. You would not be the first who got back to the mainland with wet clothes or had to wait for hours on low tide.

Submarine defence seen from Cramond Island
Submarine defence seen from Cramond Island

All photos are provided by Phil Wood

5 thoughts on “Submarine Defence at Cramond Island- Edinburgh Scotland”

Gordon Barclay on

Hi. The concrete boom linking Cramond Island with the mainland was to stop small surface craft, not submarines. The water is too shallow for a submarine to pass, even if it was on the surface. The anti-submarine defences, in the form of floating nets, ran from the north side of Cramond Island, to Inchcolm, and then to Charles Hill on the Fife shore. There are more concrete anti-boat pillars at Charles Hill, from the First World War, but re-used in the Second.

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Donna Townsley @(Patrick) on

Hi Patrick , have you got a email I could contract you direct on ? I was in hopes of chatting about the concert pillars if you have the time , I’m doing a project for college & any info would be greatly appreciated

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