Press release -
Castles, Coasts & Conkers: Fun in Scotland this Half Term
- Spine-tingling adventures for the whole family at Kelburn Castle
- Awe-inspiring colours and nature walks in Glenmore and Galloway
- Beaches, rock pools and nature to explore in East Lothian
With half-term just around the corner, Scotland will be home to some of the best ways to keep kids (and adults!) entertained this October break: from besieging medieval castles to discovering their very own hidden slice of the great outdoors.
A recent study of UK holidaymakers, commissioned by VisitScotland, revealed what parents would most like their children to experience and explore on holiday. Almost three quarters of parents (72%) want to see their children exploring deserted beaches and rock pools, while more than half (53%) look for their children to be drawn in by the lure and history of ancient castles*.
Scotland’s beaches are some of the UK’s most unique and home to abundant wildlife in October. Lunan Bay in Angus is filled with rolling sand dunes, while neighbouring St Cyrus Nature Reserve is awash with colour and life. The rock pools of Yellowcraig beach & Barns Ness in East Lothian are full of creatures, especially crabs and starfish, and are great places to spot other wildlife in the area - including brown hares and great spotted woodpeckers.
The 400-year-old Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire is home to the Green Lady - a forlorn spectre said to be a harbinger of doom for the Burnett Family. Exploring the rooms she haunts is surely the perfect activity for Halloween.
Kids will love a trip to Kelburn Castle in Ayrshire, which will host the Freaky Halloween Forest from Saturday, 14 – Monday, 23 October between 12 and 2pm. Be transformed into a world of ghosts and ghouls where dressed up performers, elaborate set designs and special effects create a scary adventure to remember.
With its untouched, centuries-old pine forests, Glenmore Forest Park is a great way for kids to discover nature. Enclosed by rounded mountains and populated with lochs littered with sandy beaches, the sense of seclusion will appeal to children and adults alike.
Galloway Forest Park – an official ‘Dark Sky Park’ - has near zero light pollution, allowing children an unfiltered view of the stars. As almost half (45%) of parents would love their children to experience a night camping in the great outdoors, this might be the ultimate place to start.
For more information on what Scotland has to offer over the English and Scottish half term, go to:
www.visitscotland.com/blog/family-2/half-term-october-break-days-out/
Topics
- Tourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
*Poll carried by Bilendi in August 2017 of 1,000 people.
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- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
- 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.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- 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) 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
