Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Historic castle on the River Dee inches from the abyss

The Castle
The Castle

The Queen’s neighbour at Balmoral had to flee his home as the raging River Dee swept away trees and a huge chunk of land at the rear of his ancient Abergeldie Castle.

When John Gordon looked out of his back door he saw just 5ft of dry land between him and the fearsome flood – where before there has been 60ft of ground stretching out to the to the river bank.

And like hundreds in nearby Ballater, devastated by last week’s flood, the 76-year-old Laird of Abergeldie had to leave in a hurry.

Mr Gordon, who is a friend of the Queen and rents out a portion of his sporting estate to the royal family for shooting and fishing, took refuge with a neighbour Gordon Fraser.

A postcard showing Abergeldie Castle in the early 1900's looking south over the River Dee on Royal Deeside
A postcard showing Abergeldie Castle in the early 1900’s looking south over the River Dee on Royal Deeside
Storm Hits the north-east of Scotland
Storm Hits the north-east of Scotland

The 21st laird, Baron of Abergeldie, has now moved into a house on his estate.

But one neighbour said: “When the waters came up he had to get out quickly. The castle is teetering on the brink. God knows what will happen if the Dee rises any further.

“The castle is in imminent danger and John is at his wits’ end. It’s not only a home. It’s the heritage, the history.

“It’s an A-listed building so losing it would be a national tragedy.

 

NEWSLINE MEDIA LIMITED

“Nothing can be done while the river is in spate like it is. It’s just thundering down.

“It swept away and smashed the mature trees at the back of the house like match sticks. It also took 250ft of the bank away and all the ground at the back.

“The river is right at the back door. I’m sure the Queen will be in touch with her condolences. Prince Charles, who is at nearby Birkhall, will also pass on his sympathy no doubt.”

 

NEWSLINE MEDIA LIMITED NEWSLINE MEDIA LIMITED

John Gordon’s family have had a close relationship with the royal family and the royals rented the four-floor tower house from 1848 until 1970.

Abergeldie Castle dates from the mid-16th century and was built by Sir Alexander Gordon of Midmar.

Meanwhile, the River Muick, which flows close to Prince Charles’s Birkhall Highland home before joining the Dee at Ballater, was in full spate.

It burst its banks close to the 18th century manor and the waters flooded a field beside the house, rising right up to the beech hedges which surround the property.  NEWSLINE MEDIA LIMITED NEWSLINE MEDIA LIMITED