Pupils from Braemar School officially opened the newly constructed Charter Chest Path near Braemar today, Friday 01 November 2024.  The challenging two-kilometre path-building project, co-funded by the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Aberdeenshire Council, connects Braemar to the car park at the Keiloch via the historic Queen’s Drive, under the steep Lion’s Face cliff, and on to the Old Brig o’ Dee military bridge at Invercauld.

The Charter Chest Path, mostly located on Invercauld Estate, provides essential safe access for walkers, trail runners, cyclists and other wheeled users by taking them off the A93, where traffic is regularly seen travelling at very high speeds around blind bends. It also links Braemar with Invercauld Estate’s path network around Craig Leek. For walkers and the more adventurous cyclists, these paths connect Keiloch with Mar Lodge on the north side of the Dee.  

With support from the landowners, Invercauld Estate and Balmoral Estate, and the Braemar Community, the path construction project was a collaboration between the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Aberdeenshire Council, and the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS), a leading environmental charity promoting sustainable public access throughout Scotland, who coordinated and managed the project. CR Contracting North Ltd (CRC) from Banchory, which specialises in civil works, trail design and construction and environmental engineering, was the appointed contractor. 

As funding partners of the £500,000 path construction project, Aberdeenshire Council and the Cairngorms National Park Authority were committed to providing a quality active route that is accessible to a wide range of users, despite the testing location.

OATS and CRC had to overcome several challenges during the three-phase project including the extremely steep, narrow and difficult ground below the Charter Chest crag, part of Creag Clunie, that required the use of a new sustainable retaining wall construction technique on the edge of the A93 to create a wider, safer and more accessible path.

Protecting environmental and built heritage features was at the heart of the project, including the Old Brig o’ Dee, a scheduled ancient monument, the River Dee and nesting birds. 

Local councillor and chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Marr Area Committee, Geva Blackett, said: “I am delighted to see the Charter Chest Path being officially opened as it will provide an essential and safe active travel route for people of all ages to enjoy. This has been an excellent example of partnership working between all concerned. I am particularly happy that this new path is connecting Braemar with the wider path network around Craig Leek which is a tremendous resource in the area for a host of leisure activities.”

Convener of Cairngorms National Park Authority, Sandy Bremner, said: “The Charter Chest Path is a great addition to our fantastic path network as we strive to be a Park for All, supporting more than 1,000km of core paths across the Cairngorms. It opens up breathtaking scenery and gives access to some of the most iconic views in the region.

“This is the first completed section of a route which will extend the Deeside Way to Braemar from its current endpoint in Ballater, a key commitment in our National Park Partnership Plan.

“The Cairngorms National Park already has some of the best path networks in Scotland to be enjoyed by residents and visitors. Projects like this help to link communities together and provide safe, accessible and healthier travel alternatives to using a car.”

Brian Wood, Chair of Braemar Community Council, said: “The Community is delighted to see this path completed at last.  We’re acutely aware that the contractors were presented with severe challenges but came up with some ingenious solutions.  This has been a great example of what can be achieved by collaboration and cooperation.  I’m confident this will soon become a very popular and well-used route.”

Invercauld Estate Chief Executive Angus McNicol said “With around 228 kilometres of our paths and tracks already actively used for public access, this additional section of path is a welcome addition. We are sure this will help both locals and visitors enjoy the Estate’s wonderful environment.”

Ends

Notes to Editors:

To guarantee that the Charter Chest Path was easily accessible to all users CRC had to overcome several challenges.  The extremely steep, narrow and difficult ground below the Charter Chest crag, part of Creag Clunie, required the use of a new sustainable retaining-wall construction technique on the edge of the A93 to create a wider, safer and more level path for all users.

The Flex MSE Sustainable vegetated retaining wall system, a low carbon option with a longer life span than the more traditional and more widely used gabion cages (large wire baskets filled with rocks) was the perfect choice for a roadside path in a remote and environmentally sensitive location where space is at a premium.   1600 bags made from recycled materials and prefilled with a special compost and sand were delivered to the site and stacked by hand. The ‘wall face’ was then hydro-seeded with a special mix of native plant seeds. Over a few growing seasons, the vegetation will blend into the hillside giving a strong natural look when viewed from the path and roadside.

In addition to traffic management issues on the A93 during construction, CRC had to deal with more underlying boulder clay than anticipated, whilst also having to secure and work around huge boulders, some the size of small cars.

The path section by the Old Brig o’Dee required an additional survey as the bridge is a scheduled ancient monument.  Reinforcement was also added to the path section beside the river where it is subject to flooding.   From an environmental perspective, the works accommodated the needs and protection of rare animal and bird species living and breeding in the vicinity.  Some small non-native larch and spruce trees had to be removed to prevent them from falling onto the A93 in the future.

The Charter Chest Path also links Braemar with Invercauld Estate’s path network around Craig Leek, completing the gap between two paths in the Cairngorms National Park Core Path Plan and allowing more adventurous cyclists, and walkers, to travel mainly off-road between Braemar and Mar Lodge on the north side of the Dee.