POLICE Scotland has issued an urgent travel warning to people planning to visit Balmoral to pay their respects to the Queen.
Authorities are concerned that a large number of well-wishers will travel to the Aberdeenshire estate over the weekend following the monarch’s death aged 96.
With no public car parking, police are already raising the alarm about people leaving their vehicles in unsafe spaces.
READ MORE: Here's why Holyrood MSPs WON'T swear new oath of allegiance to King Charles
People are being encouraged to travel to Balmoral via Aberdeenshire Council’s park and ride service, which starts from Ballater at Monaltrie Park and Braemar Castle, running on Saturday between 8am and 7pm.
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.
READ MORE: The Queen's body will be moved to Edinburgh from Balmoral, following her death
“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 & ride times.
“We are working closely with our partners to ensure the safety of everyone visiting Balmoral Estate who want to pay tribute to Her Majesty, and we would ask for the public’s co-operation at this time.”
Further information on the park and ride service is available here.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel