Carve Carrbridge made its return to the Highlands with an otterly wonderful 19th year.
More than 3,500 people flooded to the village to watch as 21 chainsaw carvers crafted their wooden wonders.
Each competitor had four hours to carve a piece that would wow the judges – all of which were judged on artistic merit, technical difficulty and originality.
The winner of this year’s Carve Carrbridge was Sam Bowsher with his piece ‘Utterly Otterly’.
Mr Bowsher is the competition’s youngest winner at only 24 and impressed with an intricate depiction of two agile otters at play.
‘Always good to get one over on my dad’
This may not have come as a surprise to some, as Mr Bowsher has deep roots in the competition.
He is the son of multi-time winner Pete Bowsher, has been a keen spectator of the event since he was just six years old and took home first place in 2019.
Speaking about his win, Mr Bowsher said: “It is absolutely brilliant to win Carve Carrbridge – and always good to get one over on my Dad!
“I think this was a tough year too – we were all looking at each other’s carvings and I don’t think any of us could call it, so I was a bit shocked to win.
“I like carving otters but I haven’t done them like this before and four hours isn’t much time, but I like to carve fast which makes this event so much fun.”
A well received return
This year’s Carve Carrbridge event colours were blue and yellow to show support for the people of Ukraine. Money was also raised for the Ukraine appeal through t-shirt sales.
Mr Bowsher took home the Claymore Trophy for his win, with Guillaume Andelot taking home second place with ‘Asterix in Scotland’ and third place being claimed by Chris Wood with ‘Wolfer’.
Prixes were also handed out for best newcomer, people’s choice and carvers’ choice.
Event coordinator Gavin Gerrard said: “We are delighted to see the return of Carve Carrbridge after a two year absence, it’s been missed by everyone and we are so grateful to all our competitors and their families for coming, our generous sponsors and our band of incredible volunteers.”
Conversation