Ballater station museum fire

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-railway-museum-restaurant-gutted-5682228

Very sad.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-32700968

Very sad. It was a lovely part of Ballater, despite the trains being long gone. I was actually there 10 days ago.

 

One bit of good news - Royal coach replica saved

 

A friend in Ballater tells me that there are fears locally that an arsonist in on the loose. A local hotel has also recently burned down in mysterious circumstances.

 

That is the Darroch Lairg Hotel who suffered a big fire in Feb this year. Same owners as the station building according to local press.

Ironically, friends of ours were the last diners in the place on the evening before the fire!

 

Apparently, cause of the fire not suspicious...

"In the meantime, the councillor launched an online fundraising campaign with the backing of Ballater Business Association and Ballater and Crathie Community Council to raise £8,000 to support the businesses and families affected by the fire. Ballater

And with just two weeks to go until their deadline, the group is appealing for more people to donate to help them reach their total, with £720 raised so far.

Good old Scots!

 

Well the two folks with fishy sounding names seem good at whipping up support, so maybe they should ask them for help.