A wedding proposal, a 90th birthday and a Golden wedding anniversary were just some of the happy occasions being celebrated at the top of the Forth Bridge at weekend, during an exclusive charity fundraising experience.
The sell-out ‘Your View’ event, which gave visitors the chance to stand atop the iconic Forth Bridge and enjoy uninterrupted views of the Edinburgh and Fife coastline, took place between Friday 23 and Sunday 25 September, raising funds for Barnardo’s Scotland.
Around 750 visitors were welcomed to the experience throughout the weekend, with more than 40 volunteers from Network Rail, Balfour Beatty, The Briggers and Barnardo’s Scotland working to run the event behind the scenes.
Members of the public had the history of the bridge brought to life by The Briggers heritage group, before ascending over 360ft to the top of the Forth Bridge platform on the north cantilever to take in the panoramic views.
One couple who certainly enjoyed the view, were Meghan Crawford, 38, and her partner Paul Ward, 44, from West Lothian.
Meghan had treated Paul to tickets for the event on the Sunday evening, but Paul surprised her by proposing at the top!
Meghan said: “We had our first date in south Queensferry, and I thought the Forth Bridge visit would be a nice trip to do together. When we got to the top, Paul handed his phone to a volunteer and asked them to take some photos of us admiring the view, and when I turned around, he was on one knee!
“There was a professional photographer who did some great photos for us and as we came back down and out of the lift, the volunteers all did a guard of honour and were clapping and cheering. It was absolutely lovely, and we can’t thank all the people from Barnardo’s, Network Rail, Balfour Beatty and the rest of the crew enough, as they made everything so special for us.”
To continue the celebrations that evening, Paul had the champagne waiting on ice and had booked a special dinner and stay at a hotel in south Queensferry, where their room had, of course, a perfect view of the bridge.
This is the fourth year that Network Rail, Balfour Beatty, The Briggers and Barnardo’s Scotland have joined forces to run the Your View event, and Meghan and Paul’s wedding proposal is the fourth to take place during this time.
Final totals raised from the Your View event are still being calculated, but the weekend’s activities are believed to have raised in excess of £50k for Barnardo’s Scotland, with three previous events run since 2017 already raising more than £223,000 to support the charity’s work.
Martin Crewe, Director for Barnardo’s Scotland said: “We simply could not be more grateful to Network Rail, Balfour Beatty and The Briggers for all their support in making this event happen, and for the many volunteers from these organisations, Barnardo’s and others, working tirelessly behind the scenes all weekend to keep everything running.
“They helped to create such a memorable experience for members of the public, including for Meghan and Paul, and we wish this couple every happiness for the future.
“We would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone that purchased tickets to come and take part in this event – we have received some great feedback and hope that a fantastic time was had by all.
“The valuable funds raised will go towards Barnardo’s hardship fund, which will be providing direct support to struggling families across Scotland this winter to help with food and energy bills.”
Stewart Lothian, Network Rail’s structures asset manager for Scotland, said: “As custodians of this iconic structure, we were delighted once again to work with Barnardo’s and Balfour Beatty to open up the Forth Bridge to the public and raise such a fantastic sum for the charity, supporting the charity’s drive to raise funds for vulnerable children, young people and families across the local communities.
“I’d like to thank all those colleagues from Network Rail and Balfour Beatty who volunteered their time to make the event happen.”
Colin Hardie, Regional Construction Superintendent for Balfour Beatty’s Regional Scotland business, said: “We are delighted to have worked with Network Rail on this year’s volunteering event at Forth Bridge, which saw a staggering 750 people reach the peak of the impressive structure across the weekend, raising important funds for Barnardo’s.
“I’d like to send my thanks to Barnardo’s, Network Rail and all those involved for making the event such a success.”
The Forth Rail Bridge took eight years to build and was finished in 1890. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015.
A video of a previous Your View event can be found at:
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/events/your-view-forth-bridge
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