Outlander writer’s plea to save sensitive sites
Diana Gabaldon has called for better education over heritage spots
Outlander creator Diana Gabaldon has called for greater protection for heritage sites from the impact of over-tourism and threats from housing developments.
The American author, who is currently visiting Scotland, said better education and management of film and TV fans was needed over sites such as Culloden battlefield.
Speaking after being honoured for services to Scottish tourism, she said she was aware of erosion problems caused by the number of visitors “trampling around” the site, near Inverness.
The time-travel series of books and a hit TV adaptation follow the romantic adventures of Second World War nurse Claire Randall after she goesbackintimeto18th-century Scotland, where she falls for Jacobite warrior Jamie Fraser.
Gabaldon, who revealed she has almost finished the ninth novel after starting work on it five years ago, spoke out months after it emerged a Clan Fraser memorial stone at Culloden, which has recorded a 66 per cent increase in visitors in the space of four years since the TV show began, had to be sealed off to allow turf repairs to be carried out.
Gabaldon, who has sold 35 million Outlander books since 1991,vowedtocontinuespeaking against “real estate firms” planning housing developments near sites like Culloden, saying she had been “appalled” at the insensitive promotion of some projects.
New research published this week revealed visits to sites used as locations in the Sonystarz TV series had leapt up by nearly 600,000 since it went into production.
There has been a 44 per cent increase in visitors to Glencoe, a 42 per cent rise at Blackness Castle and a 30 per cent hike at Linlithgow Palace. Skye and Glenfinnan, which have links with Bonnie Prince Charlie, have also seen huge increases.
The National Trust for Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to give sensitive sites much greater protection amid claims “Scotland’s heritage is too often being cast aside for long-term economic gain”.
Gabaldon said: “I’ve been against building near the Culloden battlefield. I’m not a UK citizen, so I’m not allowed to sign petitions, but I retweet campaigns and other movements. I was somewhat appalled that there was a development called Cairnfields. Do they even know what a cairn is and what they are building next to?
“There does have to be a great deal of protection for heritage sites and not just from commercial development. There is also the sheer friction of their popularity and the impact of people trampling around.
“The people at Culloden have not said anything to me directly, but I’ve heard that they have been somewhat concerned that so many people have visited the Clan Fraser memorial stone they have worn away all of the grass around it.
“There is perhaps a need for more education at visitor centres to explain that this is a delicate environment and people should keep their visit as short and unobtrusive as possible.”
bferguson@scotsman.com