Aberdeen cable car: Cableway to Union Terrace Gardens would be …

Everything seemed to be going so well on our cable car ride to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. We could just make out a small cemetery, disappearing from view below. We had been privileged to stumble across an extraordinary piece of history there: the graves of two young Royal Navy officers, struck down together by a single cannonball in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Now we were high and away in the cable car which, with some heaving and creaking, completed a seemingly near-vertical ascent. The views of Gibraltar below and the sea glistening in the sun were amazing. We came to a stop, the doors opened.

And a Barbary ape stood staring back at us. The ape colony which lives there is quite a tourist attraction, but a bit boisterous at times. In a flash, the ape leapt inside the cable car and made a grab for my wife’s M&S bag, as she was first in the queue.

He was aiming to mug an easy target, with maybe the hope of an egg mayonnaise sandwich as his prize. But there was only a new pair of beach shorts inside.

Mad macaque got more than he bargained for: a ferocious tug of war broke out with my wife. She wasn’t going to put up with the antics of a wild monkey; she’d done that for long enough with me. The ape knew he’d met his match and gave up, so turned his attention to the rest of the passengers.

We fled, with screams and shrieks of horror bouncing off the roof, and reverberating around our ears. Luckily, no one was hurt – apart from the ape’s pride, after being left empty-handed. And, needless to say, alone in the cabin.

Not quite like James Bond fighting his metal-toothed adversary, Jaws, in Moonraker – atop the Sugarloaf Mountain cable car in Rio – but a vivid memory, nonetheless.

Cable is on the table for Aberdeen

Cable is now on the table in Aberdeen. Or, maybe not, as the city council doesn’t want to put any taxpayer cash into cable car proposals by private entrepreneurs[1]. If it ever gets off the ground in Aberdeen, I doubt if passengers would be bothered by monkeys, but you never know who is going to sit next to you on public transport these days, do you?

Thinking of the world’s top cable rides made me recall the monkey saga. And fantasise about being a competitor in television reality travel adventure, Race Across the World. They have been battling it out in Canada in the latest BBC series.

But what caught my eye in the show were the early stages around Vancouver, Jasper, Banff and Calgary. I enjoyed a hectic road and rail trip around these very places a few years ago – crammed into a week and four hotels.

Cable cars offer a stunning view of Porto in Portugal (Image: Mirifada/Shutterstock)

Banff has a special place in Scottish hearts, as this beautiful mountain resort – which started off as a railway siding – was named after our own north-east town by Scots rail pioneers who blazed their way across Canada in the 19th century. Its soaring Rocky Mountain peaks make the place one of the top tourist attractions among Canadians, let alone overseas visitors.

One of the most memorable experiences during my whistle-stop visit to Banff was a ride in its famous cable cars, up and down Sulphur Mountain, where the hot springs which would make the town’s name and fortune were discovered.

Exciting new innovations can do wonders for a city’s reputation

Running cable cars into Aberdeen city centre from a new-look beach development[2] also has a mountain to climb. Apart from the initial investment, it would cost up to GBP1 million a year to run. It would still be quite a sight, and maybe a visual boost the city needs, even though the world’s best cable rides usually have spectacular mountains as their backdrop.

The timing of going cap in hand to hard-up Aberdeen City Council could be better, though, as it’s busy cutting jobs and closing everything down. Imagine the uproar if, after destroying libraries, swimming pools and sports centres, the council poured millions into bankrolling cable cars. But, exciting new innovations can do wonders for a city’s reputation[3].

They are casting around for landing spots suitable to turn into cable stations. I can think of a perfect spot – Union Terrace Gardens. Newly refurbished at a cost of GBP30 million, but lacking a “wow” factor that would be the icing on the cake for visitors.

Cable cars in and out of UTG would be a showstopper – similar to the famous monorail I enjoyed going straight through the lobby of Contemporary Resort hotel at Disney World in Florida on. Maybe Aberdeen City Council didn’t want to burn its fingers on public transport after the monumental mess the SNP government made of west coast ferries. After all, if the SNP is incapable of delivering a ferry service – or even running itself – how can it be trusted with an independent Scotland?

David Knight is the long-serving former deputy editor of The Press and Journal

References

1. ^ the city council doesn’t want to put any taxpayer cash into cable car proposals by private entrepreneurs (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
2. ^ Running cable cars into Aberdeen city centre from a new-look beach development (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)
3. ^ exciting new innovations can do wonders for a city’s reputation (www.pressandjournal.co.uk)