The Highland Wanderer with its creator Stanley Brooks. Photo: Tim Winterburn

A giant heavyweight hillwalker is greeting visitors to a Highland youth hostel.

The Highland Wanderer, a 7ft tall steel figure, has been installed at Cairngorm Lodge near Aviemore.

The 4,850lb (2,200kg) sculpture is the creation of Stanley Brooks, an offshore industry specialist and part-time sculptor from Portlethen in Aberdeenshire.

Mr Brooks used a series of 123lb (56kg) steel chain links to create the hillwalker, which has been positioned as if it is approaching the hostel after a day on the mountains.

He said: “I hope visitors to Cairngorm Lodge youth hostel enjoy interacting with the Highland Wanderer as much as I enjoyed making it.

“I am grateful to so many people who have donated their time, expertise and facilities to help bring my vision to fruition.

“In days gone by as a recreational walker you had to be made of steel, not only to fully get this remote area of the Highlands but also to join the men and women that worked the surrounding hillsides. I have reflected this by making the sculpture out of steel.

“The chain represents the unity and bond that we all need to survive and flourish in this area between ourselves and nature from the time immemorial to this present day.

“Over the years men and women have come to this area to recover and rejuvenate by seeking refuge within the surrounding mountains and nature that is in abundance. My father came here as many have done after serving in conflicts around the world to seek solace and understanding of the hard times they had gone through and found peace to recover.

“Cairngorm Lodge, in its many names and roles, has always been a safe and constant haven for these people, as it is today for both us and the youth of our future.”

Stanley Brooks has worked in the offshore industry for many years. He started out as coppersmith then moved into construction in the oil industry as a pipefitter. Over the years he moved through the industry and now works for Petrofac seconded to BP’s Sullom Voe terminal in Shetland.

Inspiration for the sculpture came to Mr Brooks when he was in a dry dock where he was working on the Maersk Gryphon floating production storage unit.

He happened to look over the side and see the dockers lifting out old chains from the chain lockers and the image of the Wanderer came into his head, immediately followed by a picture of the Cairngorm Lodge Youth Hostel. That inspiration led onto a busy 2½-year marathon to turn the vision of the sculpture into reality.

Stanley Brooks has also created three giant skiers from the ten tons of steel chain link that were gifted to him by the Damon shipyard in Rotterdam. The skiers, which have been manipulated into various ski-action poses, can now be seen at the Cairngorm ski centre base station, two miles from Cairngorm Lodge youth hostel.