The Easter Balmoral suspension bridge in the heart of Royal Deeside will reopen following major restoration work

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

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

The Grade II-listed bridge – also known as the Crathie Suspension Bridge – was built in 1834 and paid for by Queen Victoria.

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Regrettably, in recent years the bridge had reached a state of disrepair that would have required permanent closure due to storm damage, with the wooden deck also beginning to deteriorate to an unsafe extent.

The work was funded from the council’s specific budget for council-owned bridges carrying only non-motorized traffic, supplemented by a grant from the Scottish Government’s Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes program.

However, the bridge was carefully restored and secured for the future by father and son Ian and Wayne Gordon from Mosstodloch-based specialists Moray Blast. Daughter Kelly recently joined the family business.

The restoration included stripping all paint down to bare metal, followed by repairs to the metal parts and the application of a four-coat paint system. In addition, deck boards and longitudinal timber beams were removed and replaced, with all masonry thoroughly cleaned.

Moray Blast has also carried out repairs to the Polhollick and Cambus O’May footbridges, which were severely damaged by waterborne debris during Storm Frank in December 2015.

Local councilor 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 careful restoration. The bridge and the path it carries have always been popular with locals and visitors alike and it is wonderful to see it restored to its original glory.”

Cllr Alan Turner, chair of the council’s infrastructure services committee, added: “It’s great to see this iconic structure in the 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 .” helping to bring the Easter Balmoral Suspension Bridge back to life.”

Ian Gordon from Moray Blast said: “Although repairs and refurbishments have been carried out on many bridges across Scotland, Easter Balmoral proved to be a major challenge due to the consistently wet weather over the last ten months. However, this never stopped the work and we continued to make steady progress towards completion and are now pleased to be able to return the bridge to the community.”

At the time of its construction, the Easter Balmoral Rope Bridge was the main entrance to Balmoral Castle and was wide enough to accommodate carriages.

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

The bridge’s construction was carried out by John Justice Junior & Company of Dundee and is the largest and most sophisticated of five known bridges built by the Justice family, who were pioneers of suspension bridge building in eastern Scotland.

The structure is an early example of a flat-section chain suspension bridge with braced wrought iron and diagonal bar bracing. Its pylons stand on granite pillars with rounded wavy edges and there are brick flood relief arches at each end of the bridge. The bridge deck is made of wooden construction.