BT vows to keep UK’s highest phone box open in the Cairngorm mountains

The highest phone box in the UK has been saved from removal following a successful community campaign.

The traditional red phone box is located more than 2,000ft up the Cairngorm mountains at the base of the ski slope.

This is the same height as around 1 ½ Empire State Buildings, or roughly 14 blue whales balancing on their tails.

BT is consulting on the removal of around a third of Scotland’s payphones because of a steep fall in their use over the last decade.

But it said the Cairngorm phone box has now been taken out of the consultation process.

In a statement, BT said: “We listen carefully to any community concerns and have already, for example, removed from the consultation the payphone at the ski slope in the Cairngorms.

“Where concerns are raised to us through the local planning authority, we will not remove the payphone.”

There are nearly 4,800 payphones across Scotland, with BT consulting on the removal of 1,500 of them.

Over the last year, fewer than five calls were made from 1,280 payphones, with no calls at all made from more than 700 kiosks.

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