One of Aberdeenshire’s most rural communities was celebrating being reconnected to the wider world last night after spending almost two weeks in isolation.
The village of Braemar was cut off when Storm Frank began battering the region on December 30, causing the River Dee to burst its banks amid the worst flooding in the area in living memory.
The roaring waters of the region’s largest river partly destroyed the Invercauld Bridge – which is the main crossing into the village on the A93 Ballater to Braemar road.
It also caused part of the route at Micras to collapse completely, leaving transport to and from Braemar problematic for residents.
And with telephone lines down, mobile phone signal gone and power cut off, locals were left in the dark for the best part of two weeks.
However, speedy repair work by Aberdeenshire Council workers led to the reopening of the Invercauld Bridge yesterday at 5pm.
Hundreds of locals braved freezing temperatures to celebrate the occasion in true Highland style, with a troupe of local bagpipers leading a procession across the structure.
After the bridge collapsed, villagers had to get lifts along the road to the Old Military Bridge, just south of the usual crossing, and walk almost half a mile in order to pick up their cars on the other side.
Last night, locals hailed the rapid progress, which they said will allow people to finally head out to Glenshee Ski Centre, which reopened this week.
Aberdeenshire provost, Hamish Vernal, cut the ribbon at yesterday evening’s ceremony and paid tribute to the council workers who gave up their New Year’s celebration to work on the crossing.
He added: “Who says local authorities can’t act quickly? We have now got the ambulances going through and school children coming down now don’t have to walk. It is back joined to the rest of the world.
“We have seen the resilience of the local communities and how they have come together to help their neighbours in difficult times.
“It is not just about Deeside, right across Aberdeenshire in Inverurie, Port Elphinstone, Kemnay, Ellon, Rosehearty – they are all suffering. This is a little ray of sunshine in the gloom across Aberdeenshire.
“Our roads engineers and (council bridge manager) Donald Macpherson have been absolute stars. They were out here on Hogmanay, they were out on New Year’s Day; that’s why it opened earlier [than expected].”
Organiser of yesterday’s bridge party and chairwoman of the Braemar Community Council, Carole Paterson, said: “We are delighted. It is wonderful to get back and be able to welcome people to the village – that is the big thing here.
“Tourism is so important to Braemar and access to and from the village is a lifeline for us.
“We ended up with no power, no phones, no mobile phones, for days. We were totally cut off. But we came through it.
“There have been no complaints because we realise what has been happening and just how many people don’t have homes elsewhere. I was down in Ballater and it was horrible to see.
“The community spirit has been wonderful, but the community spirit in Braemar is good anyway. Nobody has been grumping and grouching, they have just been doing what they can.”
Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside councillor Peter Argyle said: “We are completely delighted and really grateful for the work of the bridges team to get the bridge open again.”
Roads were badly flooded across Braemar after the persistent rain of recent weeks, though the worst hit community in Deeside was Ballater where homes and businesses were left in ruins after the river burst its banks.