STIRLING CASTLE BEATS TOWER OF LONDON
AND THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT TO BE RATED UK’S FAVOURITE HERITAGE ATTRACTION
Castle voted best loved historic
attraction by Which? members
Stirling Castle
has beaten attractions such as The Tower of London, The Houses of Parliament
and Hampton Court Palace to be rated the UK’s favourite heritage attraction.
The survey of
Which? members rated the castle - which was home to a young Mary, Queen of Scots
- as the UK’s top heritage attraction, impressing in areas such as value for
money, customer service and quality of information.
The castle,
which is run by Historic Scotland, re-opened its palace apartments to the
public last June following a £12 million restoration of its interiors to how
they may have looked in young Mary’s time.
Years of research were carried out by archaeologists,
historians and other scholars to ensure that every detail – from the furniture
to the heraldic decorations on the walls and ceilings – was as authentic as
possible.
Key
highlights include a set a replicas of the Stirling Heads – often referred to
as Scotland’s other crown jewels – which adorn the ceiling of the Kings inner
chamber. Many of the original surviving heads, which feature intricate carved
images inspired by royalty, heraldry and mythology have been brought back
together in a special exhibition.
Meanwhile,
costumed performers from the court of a young Mary, Queen of Scots meet
visitors to the palace as they arrive, transporting them back in time to the
renaissance court of the 1540’s.
Stephen
Duncan, Director of Commercial and Tourism at Historic Scotland said;
“Stirling
Castle was home to the Stewart Kings and Queens, arguably the most famous
dynasty in Scottish history.
“At this time
Stirling Castle and its palace were the height of renaissance grandeur and
knights, nobles and foreign ambassadors would flock to the royal court to revel
in its opulence.
“Through the
palace project we wanted to recreate this experience for visitors by creating
something entirely different to anything currently available in the Scottish
market.
“It’s
fantastic to see the response by visitors who have visited the castle in their
hundreds of thousands since the reopening of the palace and to be recognised as
the UK’s favourite heritage attraction is a huge honour and testament to the
hard work of all the team.”
As well as
the palace project, the castle also runs events throughout the year which bring
other aspects of the castle’s chequered history to life.
Stephen
continues;
“We know that
visitors are increasingly looking for value for money and we want to ensure
that we offer as competitive a proposition as possible.
“As well as
having costumed performers in the palace all year round we also offer
activities at the castle for all the family. These range from special
children’s activities during the October holidays to our annual Christmas
programme and themed events, and Historic Scotland members can benefit from
free entry to the castle which includes all of the standalone events throughout
the year.
“The castle
has witnessed some of most famous events in Scottish history and we want it to
be somewhere that visitors return again and again to create new memories.”
