A businessman who built a landmark Cairngorm bridge while a student more than 40 years ago has made a poignant return to the site before it is replaced.
Bryan Chalmers helped build the Utsi Bridge near Allt Mor in the Glenmore area while studying in Edinburgh in the late 1970s as part of an engineering project.
The crossing, which is popular with walkers and named after Mikel Utsi, who reintroduced reindeer to Scotland in 1952, has now come to the end of its working life and will soon be replaced as part of a £22,000 project.
However, before it was dismantled, Mr Chalmers, who is a partner in a farm consultancy business, wanted to return to the site one last time to remember the project.
He said: “I joined the Royal Engineers section of the officer training corps in fresher’s week and while a lot of our training involved blowing things up, we were just as involved in building things.
“One of the most memorable activities, not least because of the location, was the summer exercise to build Utsi’s bridge.
“I’ve revisited many of those projects on several occasions over the years and while it’s a little sad that ‘our bridge’ is having to be replaced, it’s great to know it has served tens of thousands of visitors so well over the years.”
The new bridge will be built by ACT Heritage with hopes it will be completed before Christmas.
