The Queen's neighbour in Balmoral has had to leave his historic 450-year-old castle as it is threatened by rising flood waters.
John Seton Howard Gordon, whose 11,687-acre Abergeldie estate is enclosed by the royal residence of Balmoral on three sides, had to flee the castle as it was 'teetering on the brink'.
It sits alongside the River Dee which was turned into a raging torrent after Storm Frank battered Scotland and Northern England.
As the river burst its banks, it left the castle just feet away from the water's edge.
The tower, home to the 21st laird since 1972, remains under threat as heavy rain continues to sweep across the country.
The baron - who hit the headlines when he broke a leg after being attacked by his cows in 2009 - took refuge in the home of neighbour George Fraser, then moved into another house on the estate.
Queen's neighbours at historic Scottish castle forced to flee floods
Laird of Abergeldie Castle, close to Balmoral, vacates ancestral home as swollen river sweeps away parts of estate
Abergeldie Castle, seen next to the rising waters of the River Dee, is ‘teetering on the brink’, one neighbour said. Photograph: Ross Johnston/Newsline Media Jessica Elgot
Monday 4 January 2016
The Guardian
Residents of a castle close to Balmoral have been forced to flee their home after the swollen river Dee threatened to devastate the 16th-century tower.
Images of the rising flood show Abergeldie Castle, a Grade A-listed building, just a few feet from the water’s edge, with parts of the estate reportedly being swept away.
Baron Abergeldie, John Gordon, 76, and his wife sought refuge with their neighbour Gordon Fraser after deciding it was too dangerous to remain in their ancestral home in Aberdeenshire. He is now understood to have moved to another property on the estate.
“He left the castle when the river was at its height. It swept the embankment away,” Fraser told the Scottish Daily Record. “It moved a 60ft lump of ground and took a lot of big mature trees as well.”
The laird regularly rents out portions of his 11,700-acre estate to royal shooting and fishing parties, and the castle itself was leased to the royal family between 1848 and 1970 before Gordon moved back to the 450-year-old tower.
Abergeldie Castle is just one of the homes at risk after the River Dee swept away land, leaving the historic building feet from disaster
After the River Dee burst its banks, flood water rose to only a few feet from the castle, meaning baron John Gordon had to flee
Baron Abergeldie, 76-year-old John Gordon, left his 16th century tower house near Balmoral in Aberdeenshire as it was threatened by rising flood waters
The Queen with Princess Anne, Prince Charles and their nurse, Helen Lightbody, at Abergeldie Castle in 1955. Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images
The 11,687-acre Abergeldie estate is enclosed by Balmoral, one of the royal residences (above), on three sides
Part of the Gordon family’s 11,700-acre estate is rented out to the Royal Family for shooting and fishing
One neighbour described the historic building as “teetering on the brink”, telling the Aberdeen Press and Journal: “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. 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 matchsticks. It also took 250ft of the bank away and all the ground at the back. The river is right at the back door.”
Scotland was pelted with a severe storm last week that left many without power. On Sunday the Met Office issued an amber warning (“be prepared”) for heavy rain for the Grampian and Central, Tayside and Fife areas until Monday night.
Sarah Boyack, an MSP and Scottish Labour’s environmental justice spokeswoman, called for an urgent review of flood defences in Scotland’s 32 local authority areas on Sunday.
She said: “When the SNP (the ruling party in the devolved Scottish parliament) removed direct support for flooding I argued against it but they went ahead anyway. I was concerned as they included funding for flood risk in the general local government settlement regardless of flood investment need. Given that we know there is more bad weather on the way the SNP need to think again.”
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, defended his party’s policies after facing criticism for the budget of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency being cut by 6%.
He said: “We’ve got a lot of work that’s being done just now to protect communities from the harsh effects of flooding. Flooding and the implications of flooding are very serious for individuals and the government is committed to doing all that we can to support communities in withstanding these challenges.”
The Scottish government’s spending plans for the next financial year include £4m for councils hit by an earlier wave of floods, he added.
Queen's neighbours at historic Scottish castle forced to flee floods | Environment | The Guardian
John Seton Howard Gordon, whose 11,687-acre Abergeldie estate is enclosed by the royal residence of Balmoral on three sides, had to flee the castle as it was 'teetering on the brink'.
It sits alongside the River Dee which was turned into a raging torrent after Storm Frank battered Scotland and Northern England.
As the river burst its banks, it left the castle just feet away from the water's edge.
The tower, home to the 21st laird since 1972, remains under threat as heavy rain continues to sweep across the country.
The baron - who hit the headlines when he broke a leg after being attacked by his cows in 2009 - took refuge in the home of neighbour George Fraser, then moved into another house on the estate.
Laird of Abergeldie Castle, close to Balmoral, vacates ancestral home as swollen river sweeps away parts of estate
Abergeldie Castle, seen next to the rising waters of the River Dee, is ‘teetering on the brink’, one neighbour said. Photograph: Ross Johnston/Newsline Media Jessica Elgot
Monday 4 January 2016
The Guardian
Residents of a castle close to Balmoral have been forced to flee their home after the swollen river Dee threatened to devastate the 16th-century tower.
Images of the rising flood show Abergeldie Castle, a Grade A-listed building, just a few feet from the water’s edge, with parts of the estate reportedly being swept away.
Baron Abergeldie, John Gordon, 76, and his wife sought refuge with their neighbour Gordon Fraser after deciding it was too dangerous to remain in their ancestral home in Aberdeenshire. He is now understood to have moved to another property on the estate.
“He left the castle when the river was at its height. It swept the embankment away,” Fraser told the Scottish Daily Record. “It moved a 60ft lump of ground and took a lot of big mature trees as well.”
The laird regularly rents out portions of his 11,700-acre estate to royal shooting and fishing parties, and the castle itself was leased to the royal family between 1848 and 1970 before Gordon moved back to the 450-year-old tower.
Abergeldie Castle is just one of the homes at risk after the River Dee swept away land, leaving the historic building feet from disaster
After the River Dee burst its banks, flood water rose to only a few feet from the castle, meaning baron John Gordon had to flee
Baron Abergeldie, 76-year-old John Gordon, left his 16th century tower house near Balmoral in Aberdeenshire as it was threatened by rising flood waters
The Queen with Princess Anne, Prince Charles and their nurse, Helen Lightbody, at Abergeldie Castle in 1955. Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images
The 11,687-acre Abergeldie estate is enclosed by Balmoral, one of the royal residences (above), on three sides
Part of the Gordon family’s 11,700-acre estate is rented out to the Royal Family for shooting and fishing
One neighbour described the historic building as “teetering on the brink”, telling the Aberdeen Press and Journal: “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. 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 matchsticks. It also took 250ft of the bank away and all the ground at the back. The river is right at the back door.”
Scotland was pelted with a severe storm last week that left many without power. On Sunday the Met Office issued an amber warning (“be prepared”) for heavy rain for the Grampian and Central, Tayside and Fife areas until Monday night.
Sarah Boyack, an MSP and Scottish Labour’s environmental justice spokeswoman, called for an urgent review of flood defences in Scotland’s 32 local authority areas on Sunday.
She said: “When the SNP (the ruling party in the devolved Scottish parliament) removed direct support for flooding I argued against it but they went ahead anyway. I was concerned as they included funding for flood risk in the general local government settlement regardless of flood investment need. Given that we know there is more bad weather on the way the SNP need to think again.”
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, defended his party’s policies after facing criticism for the budget of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency being cut by 6%.
He said: “We’ve got a lot of work that’s being done just now to protect communities from the harsh effects of flooding. Flooding and the implications of flooding are very serious for individuals and the government is committed to doing all that we can to support communities in withstanding these challenges.”
The Scottish government’s spending plans for the next financial year include £4m for councils hit by an earlier wave of floods, he added.
Queen's neighbours at historic Scottish castle forced to flee floods | Environment | The Guardian
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