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Ainscough Crane Hire’s Invergordon depot has safely lifted a giant sculpture of a rabbit into its new home in the Playful Garden development at the National Trust for Scotland’s Brodie Castle in Scotland.
The show-stopping 21ft bunny is the first of an array of characters that will soon have a home in the grounds and is part of a £3million project by the conservation charity to encourage more people to experience Scotland’s heritage.
Its journey started in Yorkshire, where the rabbit was sculpted at Paragon Creative Ltd in York out of white marble jesmonite, before being driven 300 miles north and carefully lifted into place by the Ainscough team.
Using a 55 tonne crane the team firstly got the rabbit into position before setting it in its final spot within the new garden. Following this the team then lifted and attached its ears. The sculpture’s design pays homage to the historic castles’s former owner, Ninian Brodie, who, 50 years ago, starred in a theatre production of ‘Harvey’ – a play which features a character who starts having visions of a giant rabbit.
Becky Tippett, Depot manager at Invergordon said: “This was a particularly rewarding lift to be part of as we know the bunny will be a real centrepiece for the castle, particularly with the younger visitors.
Lifting a 6.5-metre rabbit safely into place definitely isn’t an everyday occurrence for the team but overall the project was very successful, we were delighted to be working with the castle and we hope to do so again in the future.”
Brodie Castle, located in Morayshire, between Inverness and Aberdeen was the ancient seat of the Clan Brodie from 1567 and was given to the care of the National Trust for Scotland, Scotland’s largest conservation charity in 1989 by Ninian Brodie, 25th Brodie of Brodie. It is a popular attraction for its impressive family history, many antiques and unusual artefacts, walled garden, nature trails, walks and wide range of events. But perhaps its most exceptional feature is its daffodil collection started by the 24th Brodie of Brodie and which is now a recognised National Collection of horticultural significance. And it is the daffodil collection, together with the history of the Brodie family and the castles, that forms the basis of the new Playful Garden story.
