7 January 2011

Media Releases

Visitors have flocked to Melrose Abbey over the Christmas and New Year period. Admission figures between 24th December and 4th January saw a 13% increase in visitors compared to the same time last year. Numbers were highest on the 27th December and 3rd January as visitors took the opportunity to take in the site during the extended festive break. The figures round off an impressive twelve months for the heritage sector with Historic Scotland, who run the abbey and another 77 attractions across Scotland recently announcing their best April - September on record. Melrose Abbey was one of the top performing sites during this period, recording an 11% increase.

7 January 2011

Media Releases

Visitors have flocked to Urquhart Castle over the Christmas and New Year period. Admission figures between 24th December and 4th January, saw a 49% increase in visitor numbers compared to the same period last year. Numbers were highest on the 2nd January as visitors took the opportunity to take in the site after the New Year celebrations. The figures round off an impressive twelve months for the heritage sector with Historic Scotland, who run the castle and another 77 attractions across Scotland recently announcing their best April - September on record.

22 December 2010

Media Releases

A new set of Government Guidance notes which covers everything you need to know about managing change in the historic environment has just been launched. The fourteen guidance notes will replace the Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas, which was published in 1998 and was the main source of such information up until now.

16 December 2010

Media Releases

Historic Scotland attractions have had their best season on record. The government agency today (16th December) issued figures from 1st April until 30th September, which saw 2,463,461 visitors through the doors of a Historic Scotland ticketed property during this period. This exceeds the agency’s previous best performance at this stage (2006-07) by almost 5,000 visitors. Each of Historic Scotland’s top three sites, Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle, experienced increased growth during this period. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland’s number one paid for tourist attraction, saw a particularly strong season, with September alone seeing a record breaking month for visitors, up 12% on the previous year.

16 December 2010

Media Releases

Stirling Castle's busy Christmas events programme continues this weekend with two very different festive highlights. On Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th, Christmas for the Queen – a series of special costumed performances - offers a taste of the seasonal celebrations of 1546. Visitors will be able to see period food being prepared, find out about the favourite Christmas celebration dishes of the 16th century and how they have influenced those we still enjoy today.