Explore historic sites for free with ticket giveaway
32 attractions to open their doors
People looking to delve into Scotland’s history can do so for free later this month as part of an annual ticket giveaway.
Historic Scotland, a branch of Historic Environment Scotland, is offering golden tickets to its sites across the country, including Huntingtower Castle near Perth.
The lordly but oddly arranged castle of two towers has strong links with Mary Queen of Scots, and is taking part in the St Andrew’s Day giveaway with special access to ticket holders on Saturday, November 26 and Sunday, November 27.
Limited tickets - including family arrangements - are now up for grabs until 5pm on Friday, November 25 at the website, www.ticketgiveaway. co.uk
Historic Scotland also oversees attractions such as Loch Leven Castle and Stanley Mills which are closed until next spring, but its other attractions including castles in Stirling and Doune are taking part in the special arrangements at 32 sites.
Stephen Duncan, director of commercial and tourism for Historic Environment Scotland, said:“As Huntingtower Castle near Perth Scotland’s largest operator of paid for tourist attractions, we’ve got a lot to offer the public.
32 historic sites will be opening their doors this ticket giveaway weekend, giving visitors the unique chance to get a taste of what’s available in their area for free. Our hope is that this will encourage communities to explore and discover more about some of their local sites, helping foster interest in and passion for Scotland’s iconic castles, abbeys and palaces.
“It’s important for us that we’re reaching out to new audiences, and finding new ways to engage them. If you’ve never visited your local historic site, now is the time!
“Ticket giveaway weekend is always very popular, so we would encourage people to register online through our dedicated website as early as possible.”
The two day event is part of the lead-in to Scotland’s wider St Andrew’s Day celebrations this year, and is part of the Scottish Government’s Winter Festivals initiative. This sees a number of events take place across Scotland, through Christmas and Hogmanay right up until Burns Night.
To mark the celebrations, social media users are being encouraged to take to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to share how they plan to mark St Andrew’s Day this year using the dedicated hashtag #ourstandrewsday.