It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that has brought joy to those seeking adventure and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Scotland’s leading children’s charity. And now, a precious few were once again able to stand atop the iconic Forth Bridge to help raise money for Barnardo’s Scotland.
The charity’s ‘Your View’ event allowed members of the public one of the most sought after and unique experiences in Scotland – namely the chance to ascend 361 feet up the historic bridge and enjoy an uninterrupted 360-degree panoramic view of the Edinburgh and Fife coastline.
Your View, in its fifth year and run in conjunction with Network Rail and Balfour Beatty, took place over the weekend as a lucky 920 people travelled from all across Scotland and beyond to take part. After Your View 2023, more than 5,200 visitors in total have experienced the event and there have been no fewer than nine marriage proposals on the vertiginous viewing platform since 2017.
Best of all, though, the event has now raised around £320,000 to fund the work of Barnardo’s Scotland. The charity supports children, young people and their families in more than 125 specialised community-based services across the country. It works with children, young people, parents, carers and communities to ensure that every child has the best possible start in life. To find out more, or to book tickets for the event, please visit: www.barnardos.org.uk/events/your-view-forth-bridge.
Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “Your View proved once again to be a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience for those lucky enough to secure a ticket. We want to thank all of those who joined us over the weekend as this is a crucial fundraiser for Barnardo’s Scotland as we continue to support children, young people and their families throughout the country.
“Your View would not be possible without the generosity of Network Rail and Balfour Beatty, and I wish to thank both organisations and our wonderful volunteers for making this special weekend happen.”
Barnardo’s Scotland intends to use the funds raised to continue to deliver employability support in 12 local authority areas across Scotland from five hubs in Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Edinburgh and Paisley.
Cliff Graham, Head of Operations for employment, training and skills in Scotland at Barnardo’s, said: Barnardo’s Works provide employability support and training to 1,100 young people a year in Scotland. We provide one-to-one support, informal group work, vocational training and work experience across a range of programmes.
“Our services aim to provided holistic support with a range of pathways that allows young people to move into a positive destination such as employment, apprenticeships college or further training. We are delighted to benefit from this funding as it will help us provide additional support and IT equipment to our service users across Scotland.”
Alan Ross, Director of Engineering and Asset Management at Network Rail, said: “We’re very proud to have supported another successful Your View event by Barnardo’s. We are happy to enable access to the Forth Bridge for hundreds of participants and it is lovely to hear all the positive feedback from the guests who have enjoyed an extraordinary experience. And hosting this event, whilst supporting the charity’s drive to raise funds for children, young people and families across local communities, makes it all the more special.”
Colin Hardie, Construction Superintendent for Balfour Beatty, said: “At Balfour Beatty, we are committed to giving back to the communities we serve. The Your View event is one example of how we do just that, raising valuable funds to support disadvantaged children and families in Scotland.
“It has been an honour to work alongside Barnardo’s Scotland and Network Rail once again, to offer members of the public this memorable experience on one of the most iconic, unique and admired structures in the world – the Forth Bridge.”
Also featuring prominently over the weekend were the famous ‘Briggers’. The Briggers are a Forth Bridge research and presentation group of volunteers based in South Queensferry. Named after the bridge workers, the group was formed to identify the names of the 73 men and boys who died constructing the Forth Bridge, they provide details on the history of the bridge and the people involved in its construction.