No sign of a reopening for dozens of closed Scottish heritage sites
The organisation in charge of caring for Scotland's historic buildings has no idea when dozens of closed castles, churches, palaces and abbeys will reopen to the public.
More than 60 properties managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) are currently "closed or partially closed" after inspections last year identified a potential safety risk from "unstable masonry at high level".
Communities hit by the ongoing loss of key visitor attractions say they face another bleak year as tourists pass them by.
HES manages 336 historic properties across Scotland, including some of the nation's most significant landmarks that draw millions of overseas and domestic visitors each year. More than 200 sites were closed to the public last year due to risks linked to deterioration caused by factors including climate change.
While some have reopened in full or in part, those that remain affected include iconic sites such as Arbroath Abbey; Linlithgow Palace, Caerlaverock Castle, Aberdour Castle and the Borders abbeys of Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Kelso and Melrose.
Some, including Bothwell Castle in Lanarkshire, have been closed even longer, amid claims HES has failed to carry outregularmaintenancework for decades.
HES has now admitted they are unable to give any indication of when affected sites might reopen.
A spokeswoman said: "A number of our sites have access restrictions in place as a precaution after we identified a potential safety risk to visitors and staff from unstable masonry at a high level at some of our sites.
"To ensure we are undertaking this work as quickly as possible we have scheduled inspections to continue throughout the winter months, as a change to our initial programme.
"At this stage we’re unable to give specific dates as to when we will be able to restore further access to additional sites until we have completed the survey and analysed the results.
"We are continuing to engage with local communities and stakeholders and have increased access at over a dozen properties so far. Currently, 74 per cent of all our sites are accessible to visitors.”