Press release -
Aberdeenshire: King of Castles
Scotland’s historic Castle Trail has been promoted on VisitScotland’s official Facebook page, resulting in over 2,500 ‘likes’, more than 600 ‘shares’ and over 60 comments.
VisitScotland recently included details of the Aberdeenshire-based Castle Trail on its Facebook page and visitors from all over the world responded with their comments, under an image of Aberdeenshire’s Drum Castle.
One comment says: “Heading to Scotland for the first time towards the end of the year...this makes me want to be there now!!!” And another adds: “How cool! I lived in Scotland as a teenager with my family, and this is one of the castles we visited! Brings back memories...”
There are more castles per acre in Aberdeenshire than anywhere else in the UK, providing a wealth of history to explore; from gruesome tales of battles fought, to strolls through romantic family estates. Coming in all shapes and sizes, each castle holds a different story to tell, from striking cliff-top ruins to grand fortresses and royal residences in the countryside.
One of the region’s most famous castles, Dunnottar, was used by Disney Pixar as inspiration for Castle DunBroch in their 2012 blockbuster Brave. The Castle, which was nominated as Scotland’s entry by VisitScotland following a Facebook poll, is currently in the top ten out of 350 entries in a Virtual Tourist competition to be crowned 8th Wonder of the World.
Aberdeenshire is home to Scotland’s only dedicated Castle Trail; a
selection of 17 unique castles. Visitors can experience the
romance and history of these restored family castles, ruins and
stately homes, by simply following the route. With its distinctive
white on brown signs and a blue castle logo, which leads visitors
through the heart of Aberdeenshire, it couldn't be a simpler day
out.
VisitScotland Regional Director, Shona Anderson, said:
“The Castle Trail is incredibly popular with visitors from across the globe and it is no surprise that it has received so much interest on our Facebook page.
“In 2013, the Year of Natural Scotland, why not learn about the natural wonders around the sites on Scotland’s Castle Trail? Several castles include beautifully-maintained formal gardens and extensive estates with walking trails which are well worth exploring.
Scotland’s Castle Trail includes Dunnottar, Crathes, Drum, Castle Fraser, Tolquhon, Haddo House, Fyvie, Delgatie, Duff House, Huntly, Spynie Palace, Balvenie, Kildrummy, Corgarff, Braemar, Balmoral and Craigievar. For further information on Scotland’s Castle Trail, visit www.visitscotland.com/castletrail
Ends
For further information contact:
|
(Mon-Wed) Kim Walton Corporate Press Officer - North Tel: 01224 269187 Mob: 07805 802508 E-mail: kim.walton@visitscotland.com (Wed-Fri) Lorna MacLennan Corporate Press Officer - North Tel: 01463 252432 Mob: 07785 515469 |
Topics
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Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors:
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
