Port Laing

Port Laing is named as such in an 1856 Ordinance Survey 6 inch map. The name origin of Port Laing, according to the Univeristy of Glasgow, is uncertain; it could contain the common Scottish surname Laing or derive from port long meaning ‘harbour of ships’ (in Gallic, the word long means ‘ship’). Opened in 1912 a Royal Navy Air station operated at Port Laing, known as RNAS Port Laing. This is said to be the first military air station in Scotland. The station had three sheds, each containing a seaplane, and was located on the shore. It later became clear Port Laing was not an ideal location, exposed to winds blowing up the Firth of Forth, and the station ceased to operate in either 1914 or…