Time for some radical thinking over the National Trust for Scotland

THE news of the possible closure of Geilston Garden by its owners, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), suggests that the NTS has been negligent in realising the potential of this special little property while placing a disproportionate investment emphasis in what it considers to be its “star attractions” (“Charm alone not enough to save Geilston House as trust counts its cost”, The Herald, July 10).

The buildings at Geilston should long ago have been developed into self-catering apartments, perhaps even for long-term let, and included in the portfolio of other properties the NTS owns for this purpose. This would provide year-round income and could allow the garden to remain open at all seasons. A small tearoom could perhaps also have attracted more visitors.

In my experience the National Trust for Scotland still has a few lessons to learn about welcoming visitors to its properties, many of which have erratic opening hours, even in high summer. In late June my wife and I attempted to visit three of the castles on the muchpublicised “Castle Trail” in Aberdeenshire – Drum, Fraser and Craigievar. Only one out of the three, Castle Fraser, was open. In June. As members of the NTS we had essentially pre-paid for our visits and as a result felt that “we wuz robbed”. The Members’ Guide contains no details of opening hours and suggests that visitors should consult the NTS website before visiting. That’s not always easy or even possible while travelling. However, in high season we should certainly expect our major tourist attractions to be open on a daily basis, especially those with such a high profile and which can hardly be considered remote. At Fyvie Castle two years ago we arrived on what we knew definitely to be an open day to find it closed at short notice. A long journey wasted.

Many visitors, whether NTS members or not, may have travelled some distance and be on holiday, so to arrive at a property to find it closed on that day will be an immense disappointment and may sour their experience of a Scotland which we all hoped had emerged from its dark age of making visitors feel less than welcome.

I must add here that I have nothing but praise for the volunteer staff at NTS properties, whom I have found always to be very welcoming and well-informed. However, if the NTS persists with a policy of closing properties and restricting opening times at others, I predict that many members, like me, will wonder how, as purportedly “holding Scotland in Trust”, the NTS can get away with it and why we should bother to subscribe to an organisation which appears only to offer a diminishing return.

Time, perhaps, for some creative thinking by the NTS, including considering the possibility of joining forces with another conservation body such as the National Trust (with which it offers reciprocal visiting rights) or even Historic Scotland, and combine their expertise of conservation techniques and skills with more efficient administration.

Bob Murray,

6 Napier Avenue, Cardross.