Fife sites among first in Scotland to reopen for tourists next week

Fife is spearheading the reopening of National Trust for Scotland properties. The trust has set out plans to reopen its castles, houses, museums, visitors centres, cafes and shops from Monday.

Scotland will move to Level 3 of coronavirus restrictions on April 26, allowing tourist attractions to open for the first time since December.

However, the trust will stagger its reopenings, with Culross Palace, the garden and shop at Kellie Castle and the Hill of Tarvit in Fife, and the visitor centre at Bannockburn in Stirling, among the first to do so on Monday.

From Friday April 30, the public will have access to Aberdeenshire castles including Fraser, Crathes and Drum, as well as Haddo House in Ellon.

Pollok House in Glasgow, The Hill House in Helensburgh, Brodick Castle on Arran, and Culzean Castle and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, both in South Ayrshire, will also open in time for the weekend.

Edinburgh and the Lothians sites set to open on the same Friday include Newhailes House, Preston Mill and The Georgian House.

Visitor centres at the Balmacara Estate in the north-west Highlands, Culloden near Inverness, and the Glencoe and Glenfinnan Monument will also open their doors once again on April 30.

The trust has introduced a booking system at some sites to manage numbers and maintain safe physical distancing.

Properties trialling a timed entry system include Culross Palace, Culloden, Newhailes House, The Hill House, Pollok House and Robert Smail’s Printing Works.

NTS chief executive

Philip Long said: “Everyone at the trust is looking forward to welcoming our visitors back to the beautiful places we protect.

“With the easing of travel restrictions across mainland Scotland, people are eager to visit the places that they love and our teams are hard at work preparing for reopening to give everyone a warm and, of course, safe welcome.

“We’ll be reopening more of our built heritage in late May and across summer and our charity is very grateful to all of those whose support and generosity means we can reopen more properties than we’d thought would have been possible this year.”

He added that after a “difficult year”, staff are happy to open again:

“So many people love these places and after such a difficult year, all of us at the trust are pleased to be able to share this positive news, and so many of our special places once again.”

A full list is available on the website nts.org.uk.

Visitors are advised not to travel without pre-booking on each property’s website.

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So many people love these places

LEADING THE WAY: Kellie Castle and Garden, top, Culross Palace, left, and Hill of Tarvit will all reopen on Monday, with several other National Trust for Scotland heritage sites following suit on Friday April 30.