Historic Ballater station destroyed by fire 'to be rebuilt'

A historic railway station in Royal Deeside which was destroyed in a blaze will be rebuilt, Aberdeenshire Council has pledged.

The Old Royal Station in Ballater was ravaged by fire earlier this month.

Structural surveys have been carried out and an assessment is being made of what can be salvaged. Rebuilding work could take two years.

The old station was the final stopping point for members of the Royal family heading to Balmoral.

Firefighters did manage to save a replica of a Royal carriage which took Queen Victoria to Scotland in 1869.

It had been painstakingly hand-crafted to match the original design after being commissioned by VisitScotland at the suggestion of Prince Charles.