Easter Balmoral suspension bridge reopens after vital restoration works

Pupils from Crathie School cut the ceremonial ribbon

The historic Easter Balmoral suspension bridge has reopened following a full restoration by specialist firm Moray Blast on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council.

Pupils from nearby Crathie School – celebrating its own 150th anniversary this year – were given the important task of cutting a ceremonial ribbon on Friday, May 10 to open the popular path.

The A-listed bridge – also known as Crathie suspension bridge – was constructed in 1834 and paid for by Queen Victoria.

Unfortunately the bridge had reached the point of deterioration in recent years where it would have required permanent closure having suffered storm damage, with the timber deck also beginning to degrade to an unsafe extent.

The works were funded from the council’s specific budget for council-owned bridges carrying only non-motorised traffic, supplemented by a grant from the Scottish Government’s Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes programme.

However the bridge has been carefully restored and safeguarded for the future by father and son team Ian and Wayne Gordon of Mosstodloch-based specialists Moray Blast who have recently been joined in the family firm by daughter Kelly.

Restoration included the removal of all paint back to bare metal, followed by repairs to the metalwork and the application of a four-layer paint system.

Deck boards and longitudinal timber bearers were also removed and replaced with all stonework being thoroughly cleaned.

Moray Blast have also carried out repairs to both the Polhollick and Cambus O’ May footbridges which were severely damaged by water-borne debris during Storm Frank in December 2015.

Local councillor and chair of the council’s Marr Area Committee, Geva Blackett, said: “I am delighted that Easter Balmoral bridge has reopened to the public following this painstaking restoration.

"The bridge and the path it carries has always been very popular with local people and visitors alike and it’s wonderful to see it back to its original glory.”

Councillor Alan Turner, chair of the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, added: “It’s tremendous to see this iconic feature in the very heart of Royal Deeside being restored to such a high quality and I congratulate the contractors and our own services for all their hard work in bringing the Easter Balmoral suspension bridge back to life.”

Ian Gordon of Moray Blast said: “Despite having completed repairs and refurbishments on many bridges throughout Scotland, Easter Balmoral proved a formidable challenge due to the consistently wet weather over the last 10 months.

"However this was never going to stop the works and we continued to make steady progress towards completion and are now pleased to hand back the bridge to the community.”

At the time of its construction, Easter Balmoral suspension bridge was the main access to Balmoral Castle and it was made wide enough to take carriages.

The bridge was later renewed by Blaikie Brothers of Aberdeen in 1885 having been replaced by Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s plate girder bridge approximately 800m upstream as the main entrance to the castle in 1857.

Construction of the bridge was undertaken by John Justice Junior & Company of Dundee and it is the largest and most sophisticated of five bridges known to have been constructed by the Justice family who were pioneers of suspension bridge construction in eastern Scotland.

The structure is an early example of a flat-link chain-suspension bridge featuring braced wrought iron with diagonal rod bracing.

Its pylons are supported on granite piers with rounded cutwaters and at each end of the bridge are masonry flood relief arches.

The bridge deck is of timber construction.