Hundreds gather for Big Lunch celebrations across Scotland

Hundreds of people across Scotland have celebrated the King’s coronation by coming together for sunshine, ice-creams and bouncy castles at Big Lunches.

A total of almost 2,000 people participated in events in Ballater, near Balmoral, and in the village of Gartocharn on the banks of Loch Lomond on Sunday.

The Coronation Big Lunch, an idea by the Eden Project and made possible by the National Lottery, was set up as a way of reducing loneliness and supporting charities and good causes.

In Ballater, which sits in the heart of Royal Deeside and on the doorstep of Balmoral, around 1,500 people turned out for a Coronation Big Lunch picnic.

David Corbyn, who helped organise the event, said: “Because of Ballater’s long association with the royal family it’s a bit more personal here.

“We feel an affinity with the royal family, we have a strong respect for them and they have for us, so this is a celebration of everything they’ve achieved and what they are now about to as King and Queen.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to come together and show our appreciation.”

Elsewhere in Scotland, more than 300 people turned out for a Coronation Big Lunch in Gartocharn – with bouncy castles and ice-cream.

James MacRae, 82, and the driving force behind the event, said: “These events are important because they pull a community together.

“I feel on an occasion like a coronation, particularly a once in 70-year coronation, that we must have an event.”

Grainne McCloskey, Scotland Regional Manager at Eden Project Communities, who are behind The Big Lunch, said she hoped it would become an annual celebration.

She said: “Community spirit is at the heart of this historic occasion and today was another opportunity for people to strengthen that community spirit while enjoying the celebrations.

“We hope organisers will go on to make The Big Lunch an annual celebration of friendship, togetherness and neighbourhood.”