Castle hoping to break visitor record

GLAMIS Castle is bidding for a bumper start to its 2018 season with high hopes it will break the six-figure visitor tally.

More than 100,000 paying visitors were welcomed through the walls of the area’s busiest attraction in 2017, with a packed programme of additional events taking the total figure to about the 150,000 mark.

The ambition is to match or better that performance over the coming months.

The official opening for the full weekend of Easter activities saw the unveiling of a major exhibition in conjunction with one of England’s leading museums showcasing the centuries-old link behind the Bowes Lyon family name. Castle general manager Tommy Baxter said: “All of the early feedback we have been receiving for 2018 is that Scotland is going to have another big tourist year and we obviously want to make the best of that, not only for the castle but the many businesses across the wider Angus community.

“We contribute massively to the number of visitors coming to Angus and our aim is to encourage people to stay longer at Glamis and longer in Angus.

“The 100,000-visitor mark is always the target, but we want to encourage people to do more than just pay to visit the castle by putting on a programme of events — some old favourites, some new and some still to be revealed, which will make them want to spend a day or longer at Glamis.”

The popular Glamis Prom is scheduled for August and the castle’s rising reputation in the canine world is reflected in the return of doggie cross-country in the CaniX Fur Nations Cup on the first weekend in May, along with a major agility event and dogs day out, both later in the year.

Easter Sunday visitors also had the opportunity to try their hand at traditional Highland games events.

Eleanor Brown (left), of Dundee City Council, at the hub with Suzie Repova, of autism charity CATESBI.