Residents of Torry took their last walk round Greyhope Road yesterday ahead of it closing for three years as part of the Aberdeen Harbour expansion project.
Around 30 people took part in the walk, with some bringing banners to show their opposition to the £375million harbour redevelopment.
Greyhope Road, from where it meets St Fitticks Road and the Coast Road up to the Girdleness Lighthouse, will be shut for three years from this morning.
The final walk around Greyhope Road was organised by the Battle for Nigg Bay Group, who usually walk there every Sunday.
Betty Lyon, who is a member of the group and the chairwoman of Torry Community Council, thinks the closure is “sad” and that another part of Torry has been “destroyed”.
She said: “Greyhope Road will be sorely missed.
“It’s a sad day for everybody and it’s a huge loss for the community.
“There are people who died in the Piper Alpha disaster whose ashes are scattered there.
“I’ve been involved with the campaign against the harbour from the outset and I think people are now realising what they are going to lose because the land take is huge.
“On the last walk people were trying to be upbeat but there was a lot of sadness because everybody knows that it will never be the same again.
“It will never be seen again, you won’t be physically able to go down to that part of the bay.
“Another part of Torry has been destroyed and to be quite frank we haven’t really got anything left that is good.”
Mrs Lyon praised the community turnout for the walk, but acknowledged that there was now nothing they could do about the closure of Greyhope Road and the harbour expansion.
The harbour is due to be completed by 2020 after being sanctioned by Aberdeen Harbour Board in December – with hopes that the city could even host cruise ships once the work is finished.
A harbour board spokeswoman previously said: “The facilities being developed over the next three years by Aberdeen Harbour Board, in partnership with its main contractor Dragados UK, will transform the port’s ability to accommodate the larger vessels we are witnessing across a whole range of industries, and represents a step-change in the marine support capabilities in Scotland.”
