Museum wants to build on recent success

A PERTH tourist destination has unveiled expansion plans after attracting more than 120,000 people through hosting the popular Poppies: Weeping Windows sculpture.

Proposals to create a wedding and conference venue at The Black Watch Castle and Museum have been submitted to Perth and Kinross Council — following on from a previous £3.5 million development at the site, which saw a cafe built and led to the museum providing a home for archives on the history of The Black Watch.

The main aim of the latest plan, which will increase floor space in the cafe, is to attract more visitors following the success of the Poppies: Weeping Window display, which saw more than 121,500 people visit Perth to remember the country’s war dead. The castle was the only Scottish mainland venue to host the sculpture which marked the centenary of the First World War. The famous regiment lost nearly 9,000 men in the conflict with another 20,000 injured.

Anne Kinnes, chief executive officer at the museum, said: “This is the next part of the journey to sustain the home of The Black Watch.

“It should increase our visitor numbers, maintain our five-star grading and ensure we are number one on TripAdvisor for Perth.

“We also aim to encourage and develop our learning and education programme, while also enabling customers to get married in our iconic castle.”