Mourners urged to use park-and-ride service to reach Balmoral

Well-wishers paying their respects to the Queen at Balmoral have been urged to use park-and-ride facilities following significant demand.

Police have said an “increasing number” of members of the public have reached the rural Scottish estate, where the Queen died on Thursday.

However, officers have had to ask some people travelling by car to leave to find alternative parking arrangements as the rural area is not equipped to cope with large numbers.

There are no parking spaces available for the general public and officers have since reported an increasing number of safety issues due to people parking in unsuitable areas.

A limited number of disabled car parking spaces are available in the coach park at the Crathie Bridge.

Aberdeenshire Council has put in place park-and-ride facilities for Saturday which will operate from Monaltrie Park in Ballater between 8am and 7pm, and from Braemar Castle during the same hours.

Police Scotland divisional commander Chief Superintendent Kate Stephen said: “We are experiencing an increasing number of well-wishers turning up at Balmoral estate to lay floral tributes, which was fully expected and welcome.

“However, many people are travelling directly to Balmoral by car, where there are no parking spaces available.

“Our officers have had to ask people to leave the area to find alternative parking arrangements, which is the very last thing they want to do.

“A number of people turned up throughout the night to pay their respects and, given that Balmoral is a very remote and rural place with very little lighting, our officers on the ground were conscious that it was not the safest location to be so late.

“Therefore I would strongly recommend planning your visit during the park-and-ride times.

“We are working closely with our partners to ensure the safety of everyone visiting Balmoral estate and we would ask for the public’s co-operation at this time.”